0^^Tmi^ 


'4' 


JAN  18  1918 
%OeiCAL  St«#^ 


A 


BV  4501  .G643  1910 
Gordon,  S.  D.  1859-1936 
Quiet  talks  about  the 
tempter 


QUIET   TALKS   ABOUT 
THE    TEMPTER 


S.    D.    GORDON'S 

QUIET  TALKS 


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v 


QUIET  TALKS 

ABOUT 

THE  TEMPTER 


,  5r 

S.  D.  GORDON 

Author  of  ^^ Quiet  Talks  on  Power i** 
*  Quiet  Talks  on  Prayer** 


NEW  YORK       CHICAGO        TORONTO 

FLEMING    H.   REVELL   COMPANY 

LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  No.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    100   Princes    Street 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.  Temptation 9 

II.  The  Tempter 23 

1.  The  Story  of  His  Career      ...  25 

2.  His  Aim  and  Ambition  ....  48 

3.  His    Defeat 66 

4.  His  Present  Struggle   ....  82 

5.  Personal   Characteristics       ...  94 

III.  Typical  Temptations m 

1.  Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works  .        .113 

2.  The    Wilderness:    How    the    Tempter 

is  Defeated 132 

IV.  The  Secret  of  Victory        .        .        .        .151 

1.  In  the  Victor I53 

2.  For  the  Overcomers     .         .         .         .173 

3.  Fighting  Tactics:   The  Tempter's   and 

Ours 184 

4.  The  Tempter's  Disguises  and  How  to 

Detect  Them 207 

5.  Authority  to  Take  Possession  of  What 

Has     Been     Redeemed     from     the 
Enemy 234 


INTRODUCTION 

These  Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter  are 
really  talks  about  the  Spirit-filled  life.  They 
necessarily  put  much  emphasis  upon  our  Lord 
Jesus  the  Victor;  upon  Calvary,  the  place  of 
Victory;  upon  Obedience,  the  pathway  of  Vic- 
tory; upon  Bible-study  and  Prayer,  the  prepara- 
tion for  Victory;  and  upon  Courage — faith 
fighting — the  spirit  of  Victory. 

These  are  homely  talks.  They  have  the  di- 
rectness and  blunt  simplicity,  and  repetition  for 
emphasis'  sake,  that  mark  conversational  speech. 
They  were  spoken  to  crowds  of  men  and  women, 
in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  looking  for  a  bit  of  help. 
They  are  put  down  here  in  black  and  white,  in 
response  to  many  requests,  practically  as  they 
were  spoken,  and  for  the  same  purpose — that 
some  may  be  helped  to  better  fighting,  and  to 
swifter,   surer  victory. 

They  are  not  meant  for  the  scholarly,  nor  for 
the  argumentative  critic,  save  as  these  may  care 
to  enroll  themselves  as  men  looking  for  any 
bit  of  homely  help  on  the  road  of  life.  If,  by 
the  Master's  grace,  they  help  some,  who  feel 
the  stress  of  the  struggle,  to  fight  better,  to 
7 


8  Introduction 

sing  cheerier,  to  follow  our  blessed  Master 
closer;  if  they  may  help  a  little  toward  purer 
lives,  warmer  sympathy,  more  loving  service, 
keener  watching  and  better  praying,  their  pur- 
pose will  be  served,  and  the  singing  of  our  won- 
drous Lord  Jesus*  praise  be  a  bit  louder  and 
sweeter. 


I.— TEMPTATION 


TEMPTATION 

Using  God's  Roads. 

Every  one  is  tempted.  If  a  man  is  alive  he 
is  tempted.  If  he  is  Hving  on  this  particular 
planet,  called  the  earth,  he  is  a  tempted  man. 
If  he  have  a  body  to  live  in,  he  will  be  tempted 
through  it.  If  there  be  a  mind  to  think  with, 
there  is  temptation  through  that.  If  there  be  a 
social  nature  to  enjoy  others  through,  if  there 
be  a  right  ambition  to  take  one's  place  in  life, 
and  do  his  full  share  of  the  fighting,  and — in  a 
good  way — win  his  share  of  the  victory,  there 
will  be  temptation  because  of  these. 

For  temptation  always  follows  the  natural 
grooves  of  the  true  life.  Satan  always  travels 
God's  road.  He  never  makes  any  of  his  own. 
He  uses  God's.  There  is  nothing  wrong  in 
itself.  But  anything  and  everything  may  be- 
come damnably  wrong.  The  sin  is  in  the  wrong 
motive  underneath,  or  the  wrong  relationship 
round  about  an  action.  It  is  in  the  excess  or 
the  exaggeration. 

Speech  is  a  gift  from  God.     But  the  desire 

to   deceive    through    speech— the   using   of   the 

power  of   speech   to   say  what  is  not  true — is 

from  the  evil  one.    The  act  of  reaching  a  hand 

II 


12       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

into  a  drawer  to  take  out  some  money  may  be 
either  right  or  wrong.  Everything  depends  on 
whose  hand  it  is,  and  why  it  is  reaching  in. 
Either  one  of  the  very  opposite  extremes  of 
right  or  wrong  may  be  in  the  act. 

If  that  drawer  is  mine  and  the  money  mine, 
and  I  am  taking  it  out  prayerfully  to  send  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  to  Madagascar,  the  act  is  not 
merely  right,  but  it  is  specially  to  be  praised. 
For  they  need  the  Gospel  in  Madagascar,  and 
the  money  may  be  transmuted  into  a  redeemed 
life  under  the  Holy  Spirit's  touch. 

If  the  drawer  is  not  mine,  nor  the  money  it 
contains,  then  the  act  is  against  the  law  of  man, 
as  well  as  the  law  of  God.  It  is  a  crime  as  well 
as  a  sin. 

If  the  drawer  is  mine,  and  the  money  too,  so 
far  as  man's  reckoning  goes,  and  yet  I  am  tak- 
ing the  money  out  to  use  for  something  that  is 
in  no  sense  a  necessity,  but  only  a  luxurious  in- 
dulgence, it  becomes  a  sin,  though  not  a  crime. 
It  is  a  sin  of  selfishness.  And  there  is  no 
greater  sin,  nor  commoner.  It  is  a  misappro- 
priation to  my  own  use  of  funds  entrusted  to 
me  by  God  to  be  used  for  Him  in  making  His 
Gospel  known  among  men.  For  that  is  the  one 
purpose  that  should  govern  all  our  possessions. 
It  is  a  distinct  breach  of  trust. 

So  it  is  regarding  every  action  of  life.  The 
motive  or  relationship  makes  it  good  or  bad. 


Temptation  13 

The  same  act  may  be  saintly,  or,  selfishly  hellish. 

Satan  boldly  and  thievishly  appropriates 
everything  for  his  own  uses  and  purposes.  His 
long  fingers  reach  in  everywhere.  Nothing  is 
sacred  to  his  touch.  The  holiest  functions,  the 
purest  relationships,  the  most  innocent  pastimes 
are  subtly  and  boldly  turned  by  him  away  from 
their  true  uses  to  serve  his  own  purposes. 

Because  we  are  here  and  sin  is  here,  and 
things  are  as  they  are,  we  are  tempted,  and  we 
will  be  tempted  to  the  last  rod  of  the  road.  The 
evil  one  attends  to  that.  With  great  craftiness 
and  persistence  he  sees  that  the  temptations  come 
under  some  guise  or  covering. 


How  to  meet  Temptation. 

Some  people  yield  to  their  temptations,  I  am 
sorry  to  say.  They  calmly  lie  down,  and  are 
trodden  underfoot,  like — shall  I  say  like  a  dog? 
Of  course  I  mean  a  dead  dog.  No  live  dog 
would.     But  some  men  do. 

Some  men  play  with  their  temptations.  Their 
consciences  are  not  dead  yet,  though  they  are 
a  bit  withered  up  from  lack  of  exercise.  They 
make  a  pretence  of  fighting,  and  then  having 
thrown  that  bone  to  their  consciences  to  be 
chewed  on  a  bit,  they  likewise  lie  down  and  are 
trodden  underfoot,  like  their  brothers  and  sis- 
ters just  referred  to. 


14       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Some  persons  fight  their  temptations.  They 
recognize  and  resist  them.  They  have  learned 
the  meaning  of  "  watch  and  pray."  The 
**  watch  "  brings  into  play  the  human  side,  the 
"  pray  "  the  divine  side.  Their  watch-tower  is 
never  deserted.  They  have  found  out  the  sleep- 
lessness of  the  tempter,  and  of  all  his  sub- 
tempters.  They  lock  up  the  joints  of  their  will, 
and  limber  up  the  joints  of  their  knees,  and  they 
fight.  They  say,  "  even  though  we  go  down,  we 
will  go  down  fighting,  and  only  in  the  last  ditch, 
and  with  face  outward  toward  the  foe.  And 
when  the  sword  blade  snaps  we  will  use  the 
scabbard.  But  we  will  never  yield  by  so  much 
as  a  half  hair's  breadth."  That's  the  spirit  in 
which  they  meet  and  fight  their  temptations. 

In  a  certain  large  steel  work  a  big  muscular 
Scotchman  called  "  Striker  Jones  "  held  the  po- 
sition of  boss-striker.  Nearly  all  the  men  in 
his  department  were  hard  drinkers.  And  he 
was  not  an  exception  to  the  rule.  But  a  change 
took  place.  He  became  a  Christian;  and  when 
pressed  by  his  fellows  to  take  a  drink  he  re- 
fused. "  I  shall  never  take  a  drink  ony  mair, 
lads,"  he  quietly  said,  "  na  drunkard  shall  in- 
herit the  Kingdom  of  God."  And  they  said, 
"  Wait  a  bit,  till  the  hot  weather  comes — till 
July.  When  he  gets  as  dry  as  a  gravel-pit  he 
will  give  in.  He  can't  help  it."  But  right 
through   the  hottest  months   he  toiled  on,   the 


Temptation  1 5 

sweat  pouring  in  streams,  yet  he  never  seemed 
to  be  tempted  to  drink. 

At  last  the  time-keeper  of  the  mill  spoke  to 
him  as  he  was  giving  in  his  time.  He  said, 
"You  used  to  drink  a  good  bit.  Don't  you 
miss  it?  " 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  very  emphatically. 

"  How  do  you  manage  to  keep  away  from 
it?" 

"  Weel,  just  this  way.  It  is  now  ten  o'clock, 
isn't  it?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Weel,  to-day  is  the  twentieth  of  the  month. 
From  seven  till  eight  I  asked  that  the  Lord 
would  help.  He  did.  And  I  put  a  dot  down  on 
the  calendar  right  near  the  twenty.  From  eight 
till  nine.  He  kept  me,  and  I  put  down  another 
dot.  From  nine  to  ten  He  has  kept  me,  and  now 
I  gie  Him  the  glory  as  I  put  down  the  third 
dot.  Just  as  I  mark  these  dots  I  pray — '  O 
Lord,  help  me;  help  me  to  fight  it  off  for  an- 
other hour,'  " 

That's  the  fighting  spirit  for  temptations. 
And  it  makes  no  matter  what  the  temptation  is, 
it  can  be  fought  and  resisted  successfully  only 
by  steady  stiff  fighting. 

Temptation's  Weak  Spot. 

Now  I  wish  you  would  mark  very  keenly 
this:   temptation   has   no   power   of   itself.     It 


1 6       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

must  have  help  from  the  man  being  tempted. 
There  is  nothing  so  weak,  so  ridiculously  weak 
in  itself,  as  a  temptation.  It  can  do  nothing, 
absolutely  nothing,  without  the  consent  of  the 
man  being  tempted.  It  can  allure,  it  can  sing 
bewitching  songs,  it  can  make  an  atmosphere 
around  you  mighty  hard  to  breathe  in,  but  it 
can't  get  inside  a  man's  life  without  his  con- 
sent. And  it  is  as  powerless  as  an  infant  ex- 
cept as  it  can  get  inside. 

There  is  only  one  knob  to  the  door  of  a 
man's  life.  And  that  is  on  the  inside.  That 
door  never  opens  except  as  the  man  inside 
opens  it.  With  greatest  reverence  be  it  said  that 
God  won't  come  in  without  a  man's  glad  consent. 
God  never  forces.  He  comes  in  only  by  our  free 
consent.  And — mark  keenly — Satan  can't  get 
in  without  the  man's  willing  consent.  Let  every 
tempted  man  underscore  this  fact,  that  it  may 
stand  out  sharp  and  clear.  And  then  he  can 
underscore  it  sharper  yet  in  the  book  of  his 
experience  that  it  takes  two  to  make  a  success- 
ful temptation,  and  you  are  one  of  the  two. 
Without  your  partnership  the  temptation  must 
slink  dejectedly  away  defeated. 

A  young  fellow  of  seventeen  was  telling  an 
older  friend  of  an  experience  he  had.  He  was 
a  carpenter's  apprentice,  and  had  been  sent  to 
make  certain  measurements  for  a  new  counter 
in  a  drinking  saloon.    It  was  very  cold  weather, 


Temptation  1 7 

and  his  teeth  were  chattering  as  he  arrived,  for 
his  coat  was  thin.  The  saloon-keeper  immedi- 
ately mixed  a  hot  drink,  and  pushed  it  over  the 
counter  to  him.  "  It'll  cost  you  nothing,"  he 
said,  "  drink  it  down  and  you'll  soon  stop  shiv- 
ering, my  boy." 

"  He  meant  it  kindly,  too,  and  didn't  think 
any  harm,"  said  the  fellow,  as  he  told  the  story. 
"  That's  what  made  it  hard  to  push  it  back,  and 
say  I  didn't  want  it." 

"  It  must  have  been  a  big  temptation,"  said 
the  friend.  "  That  saloon-keeper  might  have 
started  you  on  the  road  to  ruin." 

"  Well,"  said  the  young  fellow,  frankly,  "  I'd 
rather  have  had  it  than  some  other  kinds.  You 
see  it  takes  two  to  make  a  successful  tempta- 
tion. There's  no  saloon-keeper  and  no  cold 
weather  that  can  make  me  drink.  The  tempta- 
tion I'm  most  afraid  of  is  the  one  I'm  ready 
for  when  it  comes,  by  hankering  after  it.  If 
I  had  taken  that  drink,  I  would  not  have  put  all 
the  blame  on  that  saloon-keeper.  It  takes  two 
every  time  to  make  a  successful  temptation." 

Temptation  of  itself  is  utterly  powerless.  If 
a  man  yield,  of  course,  he  is  whipped  in  the 
start;  he  gives  the  chance  of  victory  away  with- 
out even  a  decent  show  of  fight.  If  a  man  play 
with  his  temptation,  as  so  many  do;  if  he  dally 
and  linger ;  if  he  hang  round  the  fire  poking  dry 
straws  in,  as  so  many  do,  then  he  is  whipped  too. 


1 8       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

His  defeat  is  sure.  He  passes  the  chance  of 
victory  out  to  the  assailant  without  a  decent 
show  of  fight. 

If  a  man  fight,  if  he  is  determined  to  fight, 
he  will  zvin.  For  such  a  man  will  reach  out  for 
every  bit  of  help  within  reach.  And  there  is 
One  standing  very  near  by  who  knows  all  about 
temptation,  temptations  of  every  sort,  who  has 
been  tempted  Himself,  and  who  eagerly  gives 
His  help.     He  is  always  waiting  to  help. 

A  man  may  feel  weak  and  the  temptation 
may  seem  very  subtle  and  very  strong.  It  may 
come  with  the  rush  of  a  wild  storm  down  the 
valley.  Or  it  may  come  with  the  sly,  sneaking 
subtlety  of  a  snake  crawling  along  in  the  tall 
grass  to  strike  its  fangs  in  when  you  least  think 
it  is  there.  But  this  man  says,  "  I  mean  to  be 
right.  I  mean  to  be  good,  strongly  good.  I 
mean  to  be  pure,  above  all  else  to  be  pure." 
And  so  he  locks  up  every  joint  of  his  will,  and 
reaches  eagerly  out  for  the  help  of  the  Helper 
at  hand,  and  he  fights,  and  more — he  wins. 
Every  temptation  so  approached  and  attacked  is 
already  defeated. 

How  to  Win. 


Will  you  mark  as  keenly  as  you  ever  marked 
anything  that  there  must  be  two  factors  on  the 
winning  side  in  that  fight?     There  must  be  a 


Temptation  19 

determined  will,  and  there  must  be  alongside 
the  Man  who  was  tempted  in  all  points  just  as 
we  are,  and  who  never  failed,  and  who  never 
fails.  Let  it  be  said  very  plainly  that  neither 
one  is  enough  without  the  other. 

There  must  be  a  jaw-locked  determination  not 
to  yield.  With  greatest  reverence,  be  it  said, 
the  Lord  Jesus  alone  without  our  wills  is  not 
enough.  He  works  through  the  man's  will. 
He  works  with  us.  He  can  work  only  through 
us.  He  strengthens  the  will.  That  will  may  be 
very  weak.  It  may  be  shattered  and  smashed  by 
indulgence  in  sin  out  of  all  resemblance  to  a 
will.  But,  remember,  it  is  never  lost.  While 
there's  life,  there's  a  choosing  power.  However 
weak  it  may  be  it  still  can  choose.  And  our 
tempted,  victorious  Lord  Jesus  will  help  it  to 
act,  and  to  act  right,  no  matter  how  hard  it 
seems.  And  then  He  helps  it  through  that  act 
of  choice. 

He  will  put  new  life  and  strength  into  one 
the  very  moment  the  determination  is  decided 
upon.  And  so,  bit  by  bit,  sometimes  in  a  way 
that  seems  slow,  but  very  very  surely,  the  new 
strength  comes  into  the  will.  And  so  through 
the  choice  to  resist  the  wrong  and  do  the  right, 
our  victorious  Fellow-Man  breathes  new  strength 
in,  and  gives  us  the  enormous  advantage  of  His 
victory  and  of  His  presence. 

But  let  it  be  said,  just  as  bluntly  and  plainly 


20       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

as  it  can  be  said,  that  the  will  alone  is  not 
enough.  A  man  may  have  a  square  jaw,  a  hard 
fist,  a  head  high  at  the  crown,  and  in  other  ways 
give  evidences  of  a  ruggedly  strong  will.  But 
as  surely  as  he  goes  alone,  he  will  go  down, 
and  he  will  go  down  sprawling,  and  he  will 
carry  the  scars  of  his  fall  clear  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter  of  life. 

He  may  not  go  down  for  quite  a  while,  and 
that  itself  will  greatly  increase  his  confidence  in 
himself,  but  the  fall  will  come  to  the  man  go- 
ing alone.  Going  alone  means  going  down  be- 
fore you  get  through.  And  the  longer  the  fall- 
down  is  deferred,  the  sharper  and  harder  the 
fall  will  be  when  it  does  come. 

There  must  be  a  will,  and  there  must  be  more 
— a  Saviour  too,  a  Friend,  a  Helper.  Neither 
one  nor  the  other,  but  one  and  the  other;  a  will 
and  a  Saviour;  a  will  strengthened  and  helped 
by  a  Saviour;  a  Saviour  tempted  in  all  points, 
therefore  sympathetic;  victorious  at  every  point, 
and  therefore  strong  to  help — a  Saviour  like 
that  working  through  our  wills. 

If  this  wondrous  Victor  of  the  Wilderness, 
and  of  Calvary,  be  not  allowed  to  help,  there 
will  be  a  French  Waterloo  in  your  life.  And 
the  French  never  talk  about  their  Waterloo. 
They  are  a  bit  busy  if  that  topic  is  suggested. 
There  is  no  Waterloo  on  the  famous  Napoleon 
Monument  in  Paris.     The  sculptor  had  a  con- 


Temptation  2 1 

venient  lapse  of  memory  just  then.  The  great- 
est battle  was  omitted. 

If  you  will  allow  this  great  human  Saviour, 
who  was  divine  too,  to  come  alongside  and  help, 
there  will  be  an  English  Waterloo  in  your  life. 

Every  temptation  is  a  chance  for  a  Victor}^ 
It  is  a  signal  to  fly  the  flag  of  our  Victor.  It 
is  a  chance  to  make  the  tempter  know  anew  that 
he  is  defeated.  It  is  an  opportunity  to  strike 
the  note  for  a  ringing  song  of  victory.  Steady, 
steady — there's  a  will  within,  and  a  Friend 
alongside,  and  a  victory  just  ahead,  with  the 
flag  high,  and  the  music  joyous. 

"  Hold  on,  my  heart,  in  thy  believing ! 

The  steadfast  only  wear  the  crown  ; 
He  who,  when  stormy  waves  are  heaving, 

Parts  with  his  anchor,  shall  go  down; 
But  he  whom  Jesus  holds  through  all 
Shall  stand,  though  earth  and  heaven  fall. 

"  Hold  out!    There  comes  an  end  to  sorrow; 

Hope  from  the  dust  shall  conquering  rise; 
The  storm  foretells  a  sunnier  morrow; 

The  cross  points  on  to  Paradise. 
The  Father  reigneth,  cease  all  doubt; 
Hold  on,  my  heart,  hold  on,  hold  out."* 

*  Schmolke. 


II.— THE  TEMPTER 


THE  STORY  OF  HIS  CAREER 

The  Keynote. 

Wherever  there  is  temptation  there  is  a 
tempter.  It  tells  of  him.  Whenever  it  comes, 
if  you  will  look  about  a  bit,  you  are  sure  to 
find  him. 

Temptation  may  come  through  an  evil  heart 
inside.  It  often  does.  But  there's  always  some- 
thing outside,  too.  And  that  something  is 
pretty  sure  to  conceal  some  one.  It  may  come 
through  inner  passions  or  desires.  It  is  very 
apt  to  come  through  a  coming  together  of  an 
inner  desire  and  an  outer  circumstance. 

But  however  it  comes,  through  the  inner, 
through  the  outer,  or  through  these  two  get- 
ting together,  it  always  comes  from  the  tempter. 
The  inside  longing  and  the  outside  opening  are 
simply  coverings  to  hide  his  approach.  He  uses 
whatever  is  handiest  and  most  usable. 

The  very  name  "  tempter "  tells  at  once  his 
most  striking  characteristic.  The  word  itself 
means  that  there  is  something  wrong  near  by. 
There's  somebody  being  urged  to  do  the  thing 
that  is  wrong.  There's  some  one,  more  or  less 
out  of  sight,  doing  the  urging.     The  wrong  it- 


26      Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

self  tells  of  a  right.  There  is  only  one  right. 
Any  turning  aside  is  wrong.  The  only  right 
thing  to  do  is  that  right. 

And — remember — there  is  some  One  else 
present,  too.  The  wrong  tells  of  the  right,  and 
the  right  tells  of  this  other  One  who  is  close 
by,  earnestly  longing  to  have  us  do  the  right, 
and  eager  to  help  us  do  it.  That  is  the  some 
One  who  gave  His  image  to  us,  and  will  stop 
at  nothing  to  help  us  in  our  fight  against  the 
bad. 

I  want  just  now  to  talk  with  you  a  bit  about 
the  tempter  who  is  sneaking  behind  the  tempta- 
tion. It  is  very  striking  that  the  true  keynote  to 
a  talk  about  the  tempter  is  in  the  name  of  the 
One  who  is  the  very  opposite  of  that  tempter. 
The  name  of  Jesus  is  the  keynote  that  must  give 
the  pitch  to  the  music  here  as  everywhere  else. 
For  that  name  "  Jesus "  means  "  Victor,"  lit- 
erally "  Jehovah- Victor."  It  is  a  word  taken 
bodily  over  from  the  old  language  of  the  He- 
brews into  the  Greek  or  Aramaic  of  our  Lord's 
time;  and  thence  it  has  gone  into  every  lan- 
guage where  it  is  found  to-day.  There  is  the 
shout  of  victory  in  the  very  name. 

And,  of  course,  "  victor "  means  that  there 
has  been  a  victory.  And  victory  tells  of  a 
battle,  a  fight.  It  must  have  been  a  real  fight 
to  call  for  as  strong  a  word  as  *'  victor  "  in  tell- 
ing the  result.    And  both  of  these  words,  "  bat- 


The  Story  of  his  Career  27 

tie  "  and  "  victory  "  tell  of  a  foe,  and,  more  yet, 
that  that  foe  has  been  fighting,  and  has  been 
defeated. 

And  that  great  name  of  "  Jesus  "  tells  of  an- 
other name,  the  name  of  a  place,  the  name  of 
an  event,  of  an  experience — Calvary.  That  is 
the  great  outstanding  word  in  our  Lord  Jesus* 
life  down  here.  That  was  the  pitched  battle  of 
the  long  fight  which  really  began  back  at  the 
manger-cradle,  and  ran  on  through  Nazareth, 
and  through  the  three-and-a-half  years  of  tire- 
less service. 

There  the  tempter  did  his  utmost  and  his 
worst.  There  our  Lord  by  His  sacrifice  upheld 
the  righteousness  of  His  Father,  revealed  the 
great  love  of  His  Father's  heart,  and  forever 
defeated  the  evil  one,  loosening  us  from  all  his 
claim  upon  us.  Those  must  be  the  two  ringing 
keynotes  in  talking  about  the  tempter.  The  very 
name  of  our  Lord  tells  of  him  who  has  been  de- 
feated. And  Calvary  spells  out  the  place  and 
the  time  and  the  blessed  fact  of  the  tempter's 
defeat. 


Our  Ignorance  of  His  Devices. 

These  simple  talks  about  the  tempter  are  to 
be  wholly  practical.  We  ought  to  know  about 
our  enemy  if  we  are  to  resist  him.  I  have  no 
wish  to  go  into  any  speculations,  but  only  to 


2  8       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

bring  such  clear  information  from  the  old  Book 
of  God  as  shall  make  us  stronger  to  resist  temp- 
tation, and  to  lead  a  victorious,  pure  life. 

Paul  said  to  his  own  generation  of  Chris- 
tians about  Satan,  *'  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his 
devices."  Probably  that  was  partly  due  to 
Paul's  own  faithful  teaching,  and  to  their  ac- 
ceptance of  the  simple  teaching  of  the  old  Book. 
It  certainly  cannot  be  said  to-day  of  any  con- 
siderable number  of  professing  Christians. 
There  seems  to  be  far  more  ignorance  of  his 
devices  than  knowledge. 

And  as  a  result  prayer  is  often  powerless ;  the 
simple  faith  that  takes  God  at  His  word  is  reck- 
oned remarkable  because  so  rare ;  Christian  lives 
are  entangled  with  things  that  actually  help 
Satan,  though  doubtless  all  unconsciously, 
surely,  in  most  cases;  and  our  minds  are  full 
of  such  hazy,  beclouded  ideas  about  the  evil  one 
that  our  activities  and  praying  are  terribly 
hampered. 

It  is  a  strange  and  striking  characteristic  of 
the  Church  to-day  that  people  commonly  do  not 
believe  in  the  personal  existence  of  Satan,  and 
freely  say  so.  It  is  supposed  to  be  rather  a 
sign  of  mental  strength  to  doubt  his  existence, 
and  rather  evidence  of  an  old-fashioned  child- 
ishness to  believe  in  his  being  and  in  his  power. 
And  this  seems  to  be  felt  even  more  than  it  is 
expressed,  though  it  is  freely  enough  expressed. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  29 

The  change  in  this  regard  has  been  very  radi- 
cal within,  say,  the  past  hundred  years  or  so. 
That  is,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  Satan  swung 
in  too  far  in  people's  consciousness.  They  re- 
membered him  but  forgot  to  remember  his  Vic- 
tor at  the  same  time.  Things  were  ascribed  to 
Satan  which  could  be  traced  to  natural  causes 
and  processes. 

Now,  we  have  swung  clear  to  the  other  ex- 
treme. Doubt  of  his  existence  is  freely  and 
commonly  expressed.  One  who  knows  his 
characteristics  can  easily  detect  his  own  cun- 
ning influence  at  work  there.  The  very  doubt 
of  his  existence  becomes  evidence  of  it.  And 
he  is  so  subtle  that  he  is  actually  eager  to  have 
men  doubt  his  existence  for  a  while,  if  so  be 
he  can  tighten  his  own  grip. 

It  is  of  intensest  interest  to  note,  too,  that 
this  doubt  exists  only  in  Christian  lands.  It  is 
only  where  the  name  of  his  Victor,  and  of  his 
own  terrific  defeat,  are  so  well  known  that  such 
doubt  is  expressed.  Surely  his  serpent-trail  can 
be  easily  traced  in  this.  Where  his  defeat  is 
known,  and  so  his  own  inherent  weakness  is 
known,  he  would  have  us  doubt  his  existence, 
and  so  spike  the  guns  of  our  resistance  to  him. 
Without  doubt  were  he  better  known,  he  would 
be  more  heartily  hated ;  I  mean  in  practical  ways 
hated,  and  fought  and  resisted,  and  utterly  de- 
feated all  anew  in  the  great  name  of  his  Victor. 


30       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

It  stands  out  in  sharpest  contrast  with  this 
that  no  such  doubt  is  expressed  or  known  in 
heathen  lands.  There  he  is  known,  and  dreaded, 
and  even  slavishly  worshipped,  because  of  his 
power.  His  defeat  is  a  thing  unknown  except 
where  the  Gospel  has  gone,  and  even  there  the 
knowledge  is  not  full,  nor  practically  effective, 
except  in  smaller  part. 


Three  Sorts  of  Evidence. 

I  want  to  bring  you  now  to  a  brief  sketch  of 
the  tempter's  career.  And  in  doing  that  I  shall 
not  touch  any  of  the  speculative  legends  and 
myths  that  are  so  common.  We  want  to  gather 
up  simply  some  of  what  God's  own  Word  tells 
of  him. 

Will  you  notice  keenly  before  we  turn  to  the 
Book  itself  that  there  are  three  distinct  ways 
of  proving  the  personality  of  Satan :  First  of 
all  is  the  Biblical.  We  shall  be  referring  to  that 
constantly  in  these  talks.  For  those  who  are 
willing  to  accept  the  plain  teaching  of  Scrip- 
ture there  is  no  need  of  going  further.  For  this 
Book  plainly  teaches  both  his  personal  existence, 
and  his  great  activity  and  power. 

But  for  those  who  are  not  content  to  accept 
these  teachings  there  are  two  other  independent 
sources  of  evidence.  And  each  of  them  is  quite 
conclusive  in  itself,  to  the  earnest,  seeking  man. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  31 

There  is  the  philosophical  evidence.  That  is 
to  say,  there  is  no  power  apart  from  personality. 
That  can  be  put  down  as  a  purely  philosophical 
proposition.  There  may  be  manifestations  of 
power  without  the  personality  being  seen  or  rec- 
ognized. That  is  very  common.  There  cannot 
be  power  apart  from  an  intelligence  originating 
and  directing  it.  And  certainly  there  is  an  evil 
power  in  the  world.  That  is  plainly  felt  and 
recognized  everywhere.  Now  that  presence  of 
an  evil  power  argues  plainly  the  personality  of 
an  evil  being  actively  at  work  behind  the  scenes. 

There  is  still  a  third  line  of  approach  quite 
distinct  from  these  two,  and  as  irresistible  in 
itself.  That  is  the  experimental,  or  the  evidence 
that  comes  through  experience.  Let  a  man  who 
has  been  yielding  to  temptation  try  to  quit;  let 
a  man  try  to  cut  with  the  sin  he  has  been  in- 
dulging; and  he  will  at  once  become  aware  that 
he  has  a  real  fight  on  his  hands.  He  will  be- 
come conscious  of  a  real  power  attacking  him 
with  terrific  force.  About  that  the  man  himself 
will  have  no  doubt.  It  will  come  with  peculiar 
force,  and  drive,  and  cunning  subtlety.  It  will 
hang  on  with  great  tenacity  and  persistence. 

Thousands  of  men  to-day  are  in  the  thick  of 
that  fight.  As  long  as  a  man  yields  to  evil 
there  is  no  fight.  But  when  he  pulls  away  then 
the  fight  is  on.  And  even  though  he  trusts  in 
the  great  Name  above  every  name,  and  finds  vie- 


32       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

tory  through  that  Name,  as  he  always  may  and 
will,  it  is  still  a  victory  through  fighting,  real 
intense  fighting,  with  jaw  locked,  and  fist 
clenched,  brow  moist,  and  incessant  praying. 
That  man  will  not  be  troubled  any  more  about 
the  keen,  intelligent,  persistent  personality  of  the 
evil  one.  And  his  undoubting  consciousness  will 
only  grow  more  positive  as  long  as  he  persists 
in  the  fight  against  evil  and  compromise  in  his 
own  life,  even  though  he  may  be  blessedly  con- 
scious of  the  greater  One  who  is  within.  The 
victory  always  comes  through  fighting. 

In  these  talks  together  the  reference  will  be 
almost  wholly  to  the  Biblical  evidence  as  being 
quite  conclusive  and  satisfactory. 


The  Bible  Viewpoint. 

Will  you  now  turn  to  this  Book  of  God  for 
a  little?  The  clearer  light  is  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  really  becomes  the  explanation  of  what 
is  said  in  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  light  shed 
upon  the  Old  by  the  New,  the  Old  becomes  full 
of  clear  teaching. 

The  last  of  the  books,  John's  Revelation,  con- 
tains the  most  expHcit  direct  teaching.  There 
we  are  plainly  told  that  the  serpent  of  Eden  is 
Satan  himself.  There  was  a  being  working  be- 
hind Eden's  serpent,  with  all  the  characteristics 
commonly  associated  with  that  dreaded  reptile. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  33 

The  Gospels  reveal  the  greatest  Satanic  and 
demon  activity  on  record.  There  Satan  and  his 
whole  world  of  attendant  demon-spirits,  are  ac- 
cepted as  real  beings,  of  real  power.  Our  Lord 
plainly  so  believed,  and  so  taught.  His  expe- 
rience in  the  Wilderness,  and  without  doubt  in 
Nazareth  before,  and  certainly  through  the  three 
years  and  more  ^fter,  leave  no  doubt,  both  of 
His  belief,  and  the  realness  of  his  fight,  and 
the  sweet  reality  of  His  victory  that  marked 
every  step  of  His  way. 

His  teachings  about  Sata^  are  very  plain  and 
dear.  Satan  is  the  determined  foe  of  God,  and 
of  all  that  is  good.  He  is  the  ""'prince  of  this 
world."  He  is  conducting  an  aggressive  war- 
fare. The  whole  action  of  life  is  against  him. 
And  he  is  defeated.  Every  one  who  will  resist 
and  fight  him  is  assured  of  victory. 

St.  Paul's  letters  are  full  of  the  same  iort  of 
information,  as  are  also  the  other  epistles. 
These  men  who  stood  nearest  to  our  Lord,  who 
did  such  tremendous  working  and  fighting  in 
their  Master's  Name  and  power,  these  earl> 
giants  of  faith  and  tireless  service,  and  heroic? 
suffering — these  men  have  no  question,  nor 
doubts,  about  a  personal  devil.  Their  fighting 
was  too  real  to  admit  of  doubt.  They  fought  at 
too  close  grips,  hand-to-hand,  for  doubt  to 
get  in. 

And  they  knew  victory  too,  constant  and  un- 


34       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

mistakable.  That  intensified  their  belief  in  the 
realness  of  the  fight,  and  the  one  fought.  The 
best  cure  for  doubt  here  is  fighting,  real  fight- 
ing; resisting,  stubborn  resisting,  and  steady 
insisting  on  the  will  of  Jesus,  on  the  victory  of 
Jesus  our  Lord. 

Now  these  simple  plain  New  Testament 
teachings  throw  a  flood  of  light  on  the  allu- 
sions to  Satan  in  the  Old  Testament.  Go  back 
to  Eden  fresh  from  the  newer  pages  of  Revela- 
tion, back  to  Job,  to  the  twenty-first  chapter 
of  First  Chronicles,  and  the  one  hundred  and 
ninth  Psalm,  and  the  third  of  Zechariah,  and 
you  understand  at  once  clearly  who  this  per- 
sonality is  that  works  in  such  deadly  ways,  and 
with  such  stubborn  hate.  The  New  Testament 
makes  one  keener  in  detecting  the  serpent  trail. 
And  once  our  eyes  are  sharpened  to  recognize  it, 
we  can  see  it  with  startling  plainness  in  the 
old  pages  of  the  Book,  and  in  all  the  pages 
of  the  book  of  common  life. 

Going  to  the  Original  Sources, 

Let  any  one  who  would  know  the  teaching  of 
the  Bible  take  a  rapid  but  careful  run  through 
its  pages,  noting  every  reference  to  the  enemy. 
Take  sheets  of  blank  paper  and  note  down  in 
regular  order  every  text,  writing  out  just  enough 
of  the  words  to  bring  to  your  mind  at  once  what 


The  Story  of  his  Career  35 

the  passage  contains.  Leave  a  wide  margin  at 
the  right  hand  side  of  the  sheet  for  any  notes 
you  may  want  to  make. 

A  good  concordance  will  help  much.  Though 
the  habit  of  wide  continual  reading  of  the  Bible 
by  the  page  is  the  real  basis  of  all  such  research, 
and  makes  it  easy,  and  makes  it  strangely  fas- 
cinating too,  and  even  more — makes  your  con- 
clusions much  more  reliable  because  each  pas- 
sage is  gotten  in  its  setting.  And  the  setting 
really  gives  the  meaning  of  the  words  them- 
selves. Trace  out  and  put  down  every  place 
referring  to  the  names  and  titles  of  Satan,  to 
demons  and  the  devil.  It  is  really  not  nearly  as 
laborious  a  task  as  it  sounds.  And  there  is  a 
real  fascination  about  it. 

Such  a  simple  gathering  together  and  group- 
ing up  of  the  actual  statements  of  this  blessed 
Word  of  God  will  not  only  radically  change  one's 
belief  regarding  this  cunning  enemy  of  ours,  but 
it  will  do  more.  It  will  affect  our  lives,  and 
consecration,  and  surrender,  if  we  are  indeed 
determined  to  be  true  to  our  Lord.  It  will  af- 
fect our  praying,  it  will  make  us  do  more  claim- 
ing in  our  praying,  more  taking  of  definite 
things.  Aye,  it  will  do  yet  more;  if  we  are  de- 
termined to  follow  our  Lord  fully  there  will 
come  to  us  a  new  inner  consciousness  of  some- 
thing, or  somebody,  who  is  resisting  us,  is  try- 
ing to  turn  us  aside,  or  trip  us  up. 


36       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

And  if  we  are  courageous  enough  to  keep 
steadily  on,  we  will  find  the  meaning  of  such 
a  verse  as,  "  Greater  is  He  that  is  in  you  than 
he  that  is  in  the  world."  '  The  commentary  of 
actual  experience  will  flood  that  statement  with 
a  light  that  cannot  be  gotten  in  any  book.  You 
will  be  convinced  down  into  the  very  roots  of 
your  being  of  this :  that  the  "  world "  one  is 
great,  terrifically  great;  much  too  great  for  you 
to  deal  with  alone. 

But,  greater,  aye,  greater  is  the  other  One. 
No  dictionary  definition  can  make  anything  Hke 
a  satisfactory  meaning  of  that  word  ''  greater." 
Those  two  words,  *'  great,"  "  greater,"  will  stand 
out  with  a  strange  sharpness  to  your  eyes. 
''  Great  " — that's  the  enemy ;  how  great  only  he 
knows  who  resists.  But — ah,  that  is  a  blessed 
•'  but  " ;  all  the  gospel  is  in  that  "  but  " ;  all  the 
power  of  a  perfectly  obedient  Nazareth  life,  a 
sacrificial  Calvary  death,  and  a  triumphant  res- 
urrection morning,  are  in  that  "  but."  But 
"  greater  "  is  He — the  Victor.  The  intensity  of 
your  fight  becomes  the  new  underscoring  of  that 
word  "  greater."  The  only  satisfactory  way  of 
spelling  that  word  that  will  at  all  satisfy  your 
heart  is  to  spell  it  with  a  J  and  an  E,  and  then 
S-U-S— Great !— Greater ! ! 

But  now  for  that  brief  biographical  sketch. 
There  are  seven  chapters  in  it.  But  each  can  be 
*i  John  iv.  4. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  37 

made  simple  and  brief  that  the  whole  may  easily 
be  held  in  mind  together. 

The  first  chapter  tells  of  Satan's  original  state 
before  he  became  Satan.  That  name  belongs 
to  a  later  stage,  after  his  character  had  changed. 
Originally,  as  created  by  God  in  His  great  love, 
this  prince  was  a  being  of  rare  personal  beauty, 
of  great  wisdom,  with  mighty  power,  and  high 
dignity  of  position.  The  teaching  of  the  Bible 
here  is  chiefly  inferential,  but  so  clear  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  facts  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  bringing  to  us  through  these  pages. 

Jesus'  words :  **  I  beheld  Satan  fallen  as 
lightning  from  heaven,"  '  give  a  world  of  clear 
inferential  light  on  this  first  stage  of  Satan's 
career.  Weymouth's  translation,  in  the  foot- 
note, gives  "  a  rendering  less  brief  but  more 
exact,"  in  these  words,  "  I  was  looking  on  when 
Satan  was  hurled  like  a  lightning  flash  out  of 
heaven."  Taken  with  other  scriptures  this 
points  clearly  to  Satan's  early  glorious  history. 

The  Ezekicl  Picture. 


May  I  ask  you  to  turn  to  a  remarkable  pas- 
sage about  Satan?  It  is  in  the  prophecy  of 
Ezekiel.  There  are  three  chapters  dealing  with 
the  kingdom  of  Tyre,  a  Phoenician  island-king- 
dom of  ancient  times,  lying  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean coast,  north-west  of  Israel's  territory. 

1  Luke  X.  i8. 


38       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Tyre  was  one  of  the  greatest,  most  prosper- 
ous, most  powerful,  most  arrogant,  and  most 
luxurious  of  the  great  kingdoms  of  the  world 
of  its  time.  Of  that  much  at  least,  we  can  be 
quite  sure.  Probably  much  stronger  language 
could  be  correctly  used.  Ezekiel  is  talking  about 
all  the  great  nations  surrounding  Israel.  In 
turn  he  comes  to  this  kingdom  of  Tyre;  and 
chapters  twenty-six,  twenty-seven,  and  most  of 
twenty-eight,  contain  the  Tyre  message.  It  is 
a  message  of  judgment. 

At  the  close  of  it  occurs  this  most  remarkable 
passage — chapter  twenty-eight,  verses  one  to 
nineteen.  The  first  ten  verses  speak  of  "  the 
prince  of  Tyre,"  the  next  nine  verses  of  "  the 
king  of  Tyre."  The  first  is  a  message  to  the 
prince,  the  second  a  lamentation  over  the  king. 
The  title  "  prince,"  you  will  notice,  is  a  subor- 
dinate or  secondary  title  to  "  king."  A  prince 
is  under  a  king.  A  king  rules  over  his  princes, 
who  in  turn  may  rule  over  those  under  them. 

The  language  used  here  of  the  prince  is  such 
language  as  can  properly  be  used  of  a  man. 
Indeed,  he  is  called  a  "  man."  The  language 
used  of  the  "  king  "  is  not  such  as  is  ever  used 
of  man,  nor  could  it  be  so  used.  But  it  is  most 
striking  that  exactly  the  same  spirit  dominates 
the  prince  as  the  king.  The  same  characteris- 
tics strikingly  mark  each.  The  prince  is  an  ex- 
act duplicate,  a  sort  of  understudy,  of  the  king. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  39 

The  same  beauty,  wisdom,  and  power  mark  each, 
and  the  same  awful  defiance  of  God  breathes  in 
both  alike. 

Remember  that  this  Book  of  God  is  written 
from  God's  standpoint.  It  sees  things  on  the 
earth  as  seen  through  God's  eyes.  This  should 
be  kept  clearly  in  mind.  The  Holy  Spirit  seems 
to  be  giving  us  here  a  simple  picture  of  the 
scene  as  it  appears  from  above,  to  His  own  eye. 

There  is  a  man  recognized  among  men  as 
ruler  of  the  kingdom  of  Tyre.  There  is  an- 
other ruler,  unseen  by  men,  who  rules  the  ruler 
of  Tyre,  and  who  so  completely  dominates  him 
that  this  under-ruler  perfectly  carries  out  the 
purposes  of  his  chief.  Yet  this  prince  of  Tyre 
is  one  of  the  mightiest  kings  of  earth  of  that 
time.  The  same  classification  would  make  all 
the  kings  of  earth  *'  princes "  and  this  unseen 
spirit  one  of  a  higher  order  and  higher  rule. 

It  is  a  perfect  illustration  of  thorough  organi- 
zation, the  higher  one,  unseen  by  those  on  the 
scene  of  action,  completely  carrying  out  his  own 
purpose  through  a  subordinate.  The  second 
passage  (verses  11-19)  relates  to  the  "king." 
It  seems  to  give  a  simple  sketch  of  this  unseen 
master-spirit  who  rules  this  mighty,  earthly 
king,  and  dominates  him  so  absolutely. 

The  picture  drawn  of  him  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career  is  a  most  remarkable  one,  in  its  wis- 
dom, beauty,  and  simplicity,  and  yet  its  strength. 


40      Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

He  was  not  only  beautiful  in  person  and  wise  in 
rare  degree,  but,  in  language  most  striking  as 
coming  from  God  Himself,  it  says  he  was  per- 
fect in  both  beauty  and  wisdom,  filling  out  the 
full  measure  of  what  was  possible  in  both  these 
regards. 

He  was  in  the  most  intimate  personal  rela- 
tion with  God  Himself.  Notice,  "  Thou  wast 
the  anointed  cherub  that  covereth;  thou  wast 
upon  the  holy  mountain  of  God;  thou  hast 
walked  up  and  down  in  the  midst  of  the  coals  of 
fire."  Without  going  into  how  much  those 
words  mean  just  now,  it  clearly  points  to  the 
closest  intimacy  and  fellowship  between  God 
and  this  magnificent  creature. 

TJie  Break  zvith  God. 


That  is  the  first  chapter  in  this  strange  biog- 
raphy. Then  follows  the  second :  "  Thy  heart 
was  lifted  up  because  of  thy  beauty;  thou  hast 
corrupted  thy  wisdom  by  reason  of  thy  bright- 
ness." "  Unrighteousness  was  found  in  thee." 
"  Thou  hast  sinned."  Here  is  put  simply  the 
root  of  his  sin,  and  you  will  note  keenly  that 
it  is  the  root  of  all  sin.  His  sin  and  ours  are 
of  closest  kin. 

He  preferred  himself  to  God.  He  thought  of 
his  beauty  and  wisdom  as  something  that  be- 
longed to  himself  independently  of  God.     And 


The  Story  of  his  Career  41 

more  yet,  he  thought  of  these  as  for  himself, 
instead  of  being  only  for  God,  and  His  glory. 
They  came  from  God,  their  source;  they  were 
dependent  upon  God,  their  life;  they  were  for 
God,  their  purpose.  Satan  thought  only  of  him- 
self. The  whole  core  of  sin  is  here,  preferring 
one's  self  to  our  wondrous  Lover-God. 

The  words  spoken  by  his  underling,  whom  he 
has  so  dominated,  puts  yet  more  keenly  the 
innermost  purpose  of  his  heart :  "  Thou  hast 
said,  '  I  am  a  god,  I  sit  in  the  seat  of  God '  " ; 
"thou  hast  set  thy  heart  as  the  heart  of  God." 
"  Wilt  thou  yet  say,  '  I  am  God  '?  " 

This  is  the  very  core  of  sin.  It  is  rebellion 
against  God.  It  is  dethroning  Him,  and  taking 
the  throne  for  one's  self.  It  is  nothing  short  of 
startling  to  find  how  common  is  this  very 
thought  about  God  and  one's  self.  Rarely  in- 
deed is  it  put  on  human  lips  so  plainly  and 
bluntly  and  openly.  But  it  is  lived  as  truly  as 
this  old  prince  spoke  it.  And  quickly  upon  the 
heels  of  that  came  the  natural  logical  result: 
"  I  have  cast  thee  as  profane  out  of  the  moun- 
tain of  God;  and  I  have  destroyed  thee,  O  cov- 
ering cherub,  from  the  midst  of  the  stones  of 
fire." 

Such  is  this  striking  Ezekiel  passage,  which 
came  to  the  prophet  as  a  word  spoken  by  God 
Himself.  It  puts  simply,  and  concisely,  and 
clearly,  the  first  two  stages  of  this  prince's  ca- 


42       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

reer.  First,  the  great  beauty,  rare  wisdom  and 
close  fellowship  with  God  Himself;  then  the  sad 
break-away. 

Our  Lord's  thrice-repeated  phrase,'  ''  The 
prince  of  this  world,"  suggests  in  this  connec- 
tion that  this  earth  was  the  realm  over  which  he 
was  set  as  administrator.  He  seems  to  have 
been  the  rightful  prince  of  this  earth,  but  he 
has  become  the  traitor-prince  through  being  un- 
true to  the  trust ;  and  the  usurper-prince  through 
seeking  to  retain  control  of  the  earth  as  his  own 
dominion,  through  deceiving  man,  to  whom  the 
earth's  dominion  was  given,  into  obeying  him, 
and  in  utter  defiance  of  God. 

The  third  chapter  of  Satan's  career  is  the 
present  one,  a  very  long  one,  beginning  from  the 
time  of  that  break-away,  on  through  these  cen- 
turies of  our  earth's  history,  and  to  continue 
until  the  close  of  the  present  order  of  things. 
His  whole  purpose  is  to  swing  the  earth  and 
man  wholly  away  from  God,  and  wholly  for 
himself.  In  this  chapter,  two-thirds  of  the  way 
on,  occurs  the  great  crisis  of  his  present  career 
— the  stupendous  event  of  Calvary,  where  his 
fate,  so  far  as  this  earth  and  our  race  is  con- 
cerned, was  settled  forever. 

The  fourth  chapter  is  the  one  following  this 
present  time,  when  our  Lord  shall  return  to 
establish  His  kingdom,  and  Satan  shall  be 
^John  xii.  31 ;  xiv.  30;  xvi.  ii. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  43 

"  chained,"  in  the  simple  language  of  the  Book,* 
and  kept  in  restraint  for  a  long  period,  a  thou- 
sand years. 

The  fifth  chapter  tells  of  his  being  "  loosed 
again/' '  That  seems  very  startling.  It  would 
seem  that  once  he  is  securely  fastened  up  he 
should  nevermore  be  permitted  any  freedom 
again.  But  our  God  is  a  wondrous  sovereign. 
He  is  a  love-God.  He  wants  our  love,  pure  and 
glad,  and  freely  given.  That  millennial  king- 
dom will  contain  many  who  render  only  a 
"  feigned  allegiance."  They  go  with  the  crowd 
and  the  current  of  their  time,  but  at  heart  do 
not  prefer  God's  way. 

There  is  to  be  a  final  sifting  time,  a  testing 
time.  Those  who  at  heart  prefer  the  reign  of 
this  coming  pretender-prince,  and  it  is  startling 
how  many  even  within  Church  lines  do,  these 
will  be  given  free  choice  to  do  as  they  prefer. 
Our  God  wants  only  a  love-following,  only 
heart-followers.  And  so  the  final  testing  time 
is  allowed — an  awful  time  of  sifting. 

Then  will  come  the  final  chapter,^  when  the 
last  crisis  is  over,  and  Satan  is  finally  judged, 
and  put  away  for  ever  and  ever.  Such  is  a 
brief  story  of  the  sad  career,  past  and  future, 
of  this  great  spirit. 


^Rev.  XX.  1-3.  ^Rev.  xx.  7-9, 

3  Rev.  XX.  10. 


44       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

A  Human  Understudy. 

It  is  both  striking  and  startling  to  find  that 
there  is  a  human  illustration  of  his  career. 
There  is  portrayed  for  us,  with  great  faithful- 
ness in  detail,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  character 
and  career  of  a  man,  who  fills  out  with  strange 
exactness,  this  strange  story  of  Satan.  It  is 
found  in  the  biography  of  King  Saul  of  Israel. 
His  career  is  put  down  for  us  in  the  Word  of 
God,  with  that  peculiar  fidelity  to  truth  in  out- 
lining human  character,  that  marks  this  Book. 
That  it  is  put  down  here  for  a  real  practical 
purpose,  no  one  who  reads  carefully  can 
question. 

Notice  please,  very  briefly,  the  story  of  Saul's 
life.  It  is  all  found  within  less  than  fourteen 
pages  of  First  Samuel.^  He  was  a  man  of  un- 
usual personal  beauty,  and  excellence  of  char- 
acter. He  was  chosen  by  God  to  be  a  Prince 
over  His  people.  He  was  peculiarly  endowed 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  for  this  work.  He  ruled 
for  a  tfme  with  real  rare  wisdom,  with  great 
fidelity  and  obedience  to  God's  purposes. 

Then  he  acted  independently  of  God;  he  pre- 
ferred his  own  way,  persisted  in  it,  and  defended 
it.  He  was  set  aside  as  God's  chosen  one.  An- 
other was  chosen  in  his  place,  to  be  God's  prince 
over  his  people.  But  he  refused  to  transfer 
^i  Samuel  ix.-xxxi. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  45 

the  realm  to  his  God-chosen  successor,  though 
he  knew  and  acknowledged  that  this  other  one 
was  God's  own  chosen  one  to  rule  in  his  place. 
He  not  only  refused,  but  he  fought  his  suc- 
cessor; he  persistently  and  tenaciously  and 
devilishly  fought  him  up  to  the  very  end. 

He  was  defeated.  At  the  close  of  his  career, 
in  the  sore  plight  in  which  he  found  himself, 
he  sought  the  aid  of  demons,  of  evil  spirits. 
Finally  he  died  by  his  own  hand.  And  then 
there  is  a  startling  point  to  mark  at  the  very 
close;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  startling  when  one 
thinks  of  the  great  rebellious  spirit-prince  of 
whom  we  are  talking — namely,  his  successor 
grieved  sorely  over  him  in  his  death. 

Yet  he  that  knows  the  heart  of  God,  as  given 
so  tenderly  and  fully  in  this  Book,  knows  this, 
that  while  His  purity  flames  out  against  sin,  and 
He  cannot  do  anything  else  than  judge  it,  and 
burn  it  out,  and  burn  it  up,  yet  His  great  heart 
grieves  sorely  over  His  children,  the  sons  of 
men,  and  over  the  higher  spirits  who  have  so 
sadly  fallen. 

Is  not  that  a  most  striking  parallel  between 
these  two  princes:  the  first  prince  of  Israel  and 
the  first  and  chief  of  all  the  princes  of  the  up- 
per world?  But  I  am  very  sure  there  is  yet 
more  in  the  parallel  between  the  stories  of  Sa- 
tan and  of  Saul.  There  is  something  intensely 
personal  to  us.    Saul  perfectly  produced  in  him^ 


46       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

self  the  career  of  Satan  from  the  break  on.  It 
is  possible  for  a  man  to  reproduce  the  Satan 
character.  A  man  may  be  a  mirror  reflecting 
clearly  and  fully  in  his  own  life  the  character- 
istics of  that  traitor-prince. 

Mark  very  keenly  and  prayerfully — the  core 
of  all  Satan's  rebellion  was  his  preferring  him- 
self to  God.  He  wanted  his  own  way.  That 
was  all.  But  that  was  terrific.  He  was  self- 
willed,  he  persisted  in  his  self-will.  Here  was 
the  one  seed,  out  of  which  his  whole  character 
and  career  grew  into  their  awful  strength.  May 
I  ask  you  very  softly,  please,  do  you  find  any 
of  this  sort  of  seed  inside  yourself?  Let  the 
answer  be  only  to  yourself,  as  all  alone  in  God's 
own  presence,  with  this  strangely  searching 
Word  of  His  open,  you  find  your  inner  motives 
laid  bare  by  the  faithful  Holy  Spirit. 

As  we  close  our  talk  may  we  not  very  quietly 
offer  this  petition  in  our  hearts,  and  repeat  that 
great  prayer  of  David's : '  Search  me,  O  God, 
and  know  my  heart;  and  let  me  know  about  this 
heart  of  mine,  what  Thou  dost  know.  Try  me, 
and  know  my  thoughts — that  is,  my  innermost 
motives,  my  undermost  purposes,  my  hidden- 
away  ambitions — the  thing  underneath  all  else 
that  is  really  gripping  my  life.    Try  me. 

"  Try "  is  a  fire  word.  It  means  a  hotly 
heated   furnace,  and   the  metal  heated  to  the 

*  Psalm  cxxxix.  23,  24. 


The  Story  of  his  Career  47 

liquid  state,  that  all  the  dross  may  be  freed  out 
and  come  to  the  top  in  clear  view,  and  then  be 
painstakingly  skimmed  off.  "  Try  me."  It's 
not  an  easy  prayer  to  make.  Yet  it  is  the  only 
prayer  that  will  meet  the  case  here.  "  Try  me  " 
— find  out,  and  put  out.  Let  the  fire-test  come. 
Can  you  make  that  prayer?  Aye,  you  can;  will 
you?  There's  a  wondrous  life  of  purity  and 
power  at  the  end  of  that  road. 

And  see  if  there  be  any  way  in  me  that 
grieves  Thee;  and  help  me  see  what  Thou  dost 
see;  and  help  me  be  grieved  over  what  I  see 
even  as  Thou  art.  And  lead  me — and  here  the 
iron  of  one's  will  comes  in — lead  me ;  here  I  am, 
wiUing  to  be  led. 

"  I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  Thou 
Shouldest  lead  me  on; 
I  loved  to  choose  and  see  my  path, — but  now — 
Lead  Thou  me  on." 

Here  I  am,  ready  to  go  along  as  Thou  dost 
lead ;  lead  me  out  of  this  way,  into  Thy  way,  the 
way  everlasting. 


HIS  AIM  AND  AMBITION 

The  Trinity  of  Action. 

There's  a  new  trinity  that  the  earnest  man 
wants  to  get  hold  of.  At  least  it  is  new  in  not 
being  much  talked  about.  It  is  the  trinity  of 
action,  the  three  that  come  into  contact  in  the 
action  of  life,  three  persons  in  one  action.  The 
man  who  earnestly  wants  to  win  in  the  fight 
of  life  needs  to  know  about  this  trinity  of  action. 

If  a  man  would  be  pure;  if  he  would  be 
strong;  if  he  would  make  no  partnership  of  any 
sort — silent  or  otherwise — with  sin,  he  must 
fight.  If  he  would  keep  that  sly,  subtle,  stub- 
born thing  called  selfishness  out,  clear  out  and 
clean  out,  with  no  tail-ends  left  anywhere 
about;  if  he  would  keep  humble,  self- forgetfully 
humble,  seeking  nothing  for  himself,  he  must 
fight  for  it.  If  he  would  be  free  from  that  pe- 
culiar money-slavery,  whose  clanking  chains  are 
rarely  out  of  sight  or  sound  wherever  one  goes ; 
if  he  would  know  the  rare  sweets  of  that  rarest 
of  all  things,  self-mastery,  he  will  have  to  do 
some  real,  hard,  stiff  fighting. 

The  earnest  man  knows  that  life  is  a  fight. 
The  presence  of  the  tempter  makes  it  a  fight. 
48 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  49 

The  man's  earnest  purpose  to  be  true,  both  to 
himself  and  to  his  Lord,  brings  the  fight  out, 
and  brings  it  on,  and  makes  it  a  very  real  fight 
so  far  as  he  is  concerned.  Now,  such  a  man 
in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  wants  to  know  about 
this  new  trinity  if  he  is  to  be  a  keen  fighter,  and 
if  he  is  to  win  in  the  fight.  If  he  is  not  to 
suffer  shameful  defeat  he  must  know  about  this 
three-in-one. 

You  know  the  fight  of  life  may  be  settled  in 
one  of  three  ways.  A  man  may  be  defeated. 
He  may  make  an  honest  fight  and  be  defeated; 
and  a  good  many  men  are.  Or,  he  may  make 
a  sort  of  truce,  a  compromise,  a  stand-off.  He 
may  agree  not  to  fight,  that  is,  not  to  oppose 
in  any  aggressive  way  the  power  of  evil,  but 
just  to  slip  smoothly  along,  content  not  to  op- 
pose, but  to  play  the  part  of  a  neutral. 

Yet  that  is  really  the  same  thing  as  a  defeat, 
only  it  is  not  a  decent  defeat;  it  is  cowardly. 
There  is  no  neutral  ground,  where  right  and 
wrong  are  involved.  The  man  who  fights,  and 
is  whipped  has  the  comfort  of  knowing  that  at 
least  he  fought — he  is  not  a  coward.  But  this 
easy-going  fellow  has  not  enough  heart  to  make 
a  good  fight.  He's  too  diplomatic.  Cowards  are 
rare  diplomats.  It  is  surprising  how  many  are 
letting  the  fight  of  life  be  settled  in  this  slip- 
shod way. 

Then  there  is  a  third  way,  fighting  and  win- 


50       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

ning.  The  earnest  man  will  fight,  and  he  may 
win,  and  he  will  win,  if  our  blessed  Lord  Jesus 
may  have  His  way  in  his  life.  Now,  to  know 
about  this  trinity  of  actions  in  the  fight  of  life 
is  an  immense  factor  in  winning.  And  the 
earnest  man  should  know  about  it. 

The  first  one  I  will  name  in  this  trinity  is 
the  tempter,  the  splendid  spirit-prince  of  this 
world.  I  name  him  first  because  he  is  the  ag- 
gressor. He  started  the  fight,  and  he  is  forever 
keeping  it  up.  I  name  him  first,  too,  because  we 
are  living  on  the  earth — and  he  is  the  prince  of 
this  world.  This  is  the  battle-field,  and  this 
prince  is  at  home  here.  He  knows  all  the  ground 
well.  He  is  fighting  on  familiar  ground,  and 
in  that  he  has  great  advantage.  The  earnest 
man  wants  to  get  some  clear,  sane,  workable  in- 
formation about  him. 


The  Human  Battle-field. 


Then  the  second  one  in  this  trinity  is  the  man 
himself.  He  is  the  real  scene  of  the  conflict. 
I  said  the  earth  is  the  battle-field  and  that  is 
true.  It  is  true  because  man  is  on  the  earth. 
It  is  our  presence  here  that  makes  it  the  battle- 
field. This  earth  is  ours  as  well  as  our  present 
home.  We  were  given  mastery  over  all  its  riches 
and  forces.  It  is  our  presence  here  that  makes 
the  fight.    We  men  are  really  the  battle-ground. 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  51 

The  tempter  works  upon  us,  and  he  works 
through  us.  He  must  work  through  us.  It  is 
his  only  way.  Only  as  Satan  gets  control  of 
men  can  he  carry  out  his  ambitions  for  the 
earth. 

Every  man  is  a  battle-field,  a  spirit  battle- 
field. Every  man  is  being  besieged.  If  the  evil 
one  be  in  control, — and  it  is  startling,  to  the 
point  of  being  painful,  in  how  many  of  us  he 
is  in  control,  even  where  we  are  quite  uncon- 
scious that  it  is  he,  for  he  is  very  adroit  in  keep- 
ing out  of  sight;  if  he  be  in  control,  then  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  laying  siege,  lovingly,  tactfully, 
persistently  trying  to  win  His  way  in. 

And  wherever  the  Lord  Jesus  has  been  given 
mastery,  the  enemy  is,  by  every  artful  device 
known  to  deceit,  trying  with  malicious  cunning 
and  persistence  to  get  in  at  some  corner  or 
crevice.  But — but  the  man  within  is  the  decid- 
ing factor.  The  man  settles  who  shall  come  in 
and  rule  his  life.  Every  man's  heart  is  his 
castle.  There  he  is  sovereign,  and  none  can 
come  in  without  his  consent. 

There  is  only  one  knob  to  the  door  of  a  man's 
heart.  That  is  on  the  inside.  The  tempter  can- 
not get  in  unless  the  man  within  turns  that  knob 
and  lets  him  in.  And,  be  it  remembered  with 
greatest  reverence,  that  our  gracious  God  won't 
come  in  except  by  the  man's  free  consent.  Man 
is  the  battle-field.    He  decides  which  way  the  bat- 


52       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

tie  should  go.  No  man  can  be  whipped  without 
his  own  consent.  And  every  man  may  have  vic- 
tory, sweet  and  full,  if  he  wants  it.  Man  is  the 
second  of  this  trinity  of  action,  the  middle  one. 
The  thick  of  the  action  swings  around  him. 


An  Unfailing  Ally. 


And  the  third  one  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  His 
place  of  activity  just  now  is  this  earth.  He 
represents  our  Lord  Jesus,  and  is  clothed  with 
full  power  as  His  representative.  When  Jesus 
was  on  the  earth  He  yielded  Himself  wholly  to 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  was  entirely  under  His  con- 
trol. When  He  finished  his  work  on  earth,  and 
went  back  home  again,  the  Holy  Spirit  yielded 
Himself  wholly  to  the  control  of  our  Lord  Jesus. 
And  now  He  is  here  on  the  earth,  the  messenger 
and  representative  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  clothed 
with  absolute  power.  He  is  the  Lord  Jesus' 
other  self,  sent  down  to  carry  out  His  plans,  and 
to  make  real  and  actual  in  your  life  and  mine 
the  victory  which  Jesus  won  for  us  when  He 
was  here. 

This  is  the  great  third  One  of  this  trinity  of 
action.  It  is  He  that  so  lovingly  and  persistently 
lays  siege  to  human  hearts.  He  works  wholly 
through  our  wills.  He  will  come  into  our  lives ; 
he  will  take  supervision  of  our  temptations;  he 
will  be  the  general  on  our  side  in  every  fight. 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  53 

He  gives  us  all  the  victory  of  Jesus  over  Satan. 
That  victory,  won  years  ago,  He  will  make  a 
present  victory  in  your  life  and  mine. 

All  this  experience,  and  skill,  and  power,  and 
the  enormous  prestige  of  a  victory  already  won, 
He  puts  at  our  disposal.  We  can  be  as  sure 
of  victory  as  we  are  sure  that  our  Lord  is 
actually  Victor.  This  Holy  Spirit  is  our  per- 
sonal friend.  He  is  always  alongside,  inside, 
to  help.  He  devotes  Himself  to  us.  And  in 
His  presence  we  have  all  the  power  of  God,  and 
all  the  victory  of  Jesus,  at  our  disposal  in  our 
life-fight. 

This  is  the  trinity  of  action — a  real  devil  to 
be  resisted  and  fought,  a  real  Holy  Spirit  de- 
voting Himself  to  us,  and  we  men  in  between 
deciding  the  fight  by  our  choices.  We  know 
that  we  men  are  real.  We  have  no  doubt  about 
that.  We  know  the  conflict  of  life  is  a  real 
thing.  The  earnest  man  has  no  question  about 
that.  Well,  these  other  two  are  just  as  real, 
though  unseen.  We  want  to  look  not  so  much 
at  the  things  that  are  seen,  but  through  and 
beyond  these,  at  the  things  and  persons  unseen. 
For  these  are  the  real  forces. 

There  is  a  devil  to  be  fought.  And  a  keen 
tough  fighter  he  is,  too,  but  he  has  the  enormous 
disadvantage  of  having  known  a  crushing 
defeat. 

There  is  a  Holy  Spirit,  too,  to  take  charge  of 


54       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

our  fight,  to  fight  with  us  and  through  us.  He 
has  never  known  defeat.  He  is  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus,  the  Victor  over  the  devil.  He  is  with 
us.  He  will  make  real  in  us  the  victory  of 
Jesus.  His  presence  assures  victory.  But  it 
is  victory  through  fighting.  The  fighting  is  real, 
and  the  victory  is  just  as  real. 

And  in  between  these  two  we  men  decide  the 
issue.  The  devil  is  the  tempter.  He  is  the 
aggressor.  He  has  great  power  and  subtlety. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Helper.  He  is  the  Vic- 
tor-Spirit. He  has  far  greater  power  than  the 
tempter.  He  never  fails.  He  is  our  personal 
friend.  The  result  depends  upon  us.  We  are 
the  tempted.  We  may  be  the  helped.  We  must 
recognize  and  resist  the  tempter.  We  must  rec- 
ognize and  claim  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Through  Him  there  is  unfailing  victory  for  us. 
That  is  the  trinity  of  action  in  the  fight  of 
life. 


The  Awe  of  Power. 

Now  it  will  help  us  greatly  to  recognize  and 
resist  the  devil,  if  we  know  a  bit  more  about 
him.  Knowledge  here  will  be  a  real  help  to 
power.  I  want  to  talk  with  you  just  now  about 
his  ambition  and  his  aim.  K  we  understand 
what  it  is  he  is  aiming  at,  and  what  motive  is 
controlling  him,  it  will  help  us  greatly  in  rec- 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  55 

ognizing    him    when    he    approaches    us    under 
cover. 

It  helps  to  note  the  difference  between  aim 
and  ambition.  The  aim  is  the  purpose  of  one's 
life;  the  ambition  is  the  passion  burning  under- 
neath. The  aim  is  the  thing  you  are  driving  at ; 
ambition  is  the  thing  you  are  driving  with,  or 
the  thing  that  drives  you  toward  the  aim.  The 
aim  is  the  goal;  the  ambition  the  motive  power. 
The  aim  is  the  driving  point ;  the  ambition  is  the 
driving  power. 

What  are  Satan's  aim  and  ambition — the  pur- 
pose and  passion  that  control  him?  I  think  we 
can  get  the  answer  quicker,  and  clearer,  and 
better,  if  we  take  a  moment  to  note  the  effect 
produced  by  the  possession  of  power. 

Power  always  has  a  peculiar  effect  upon  those 
who  have  it.  That  effect  may  be  either  good  or 
bad.  Power  either  awes,  or  it  itches.  It  pro- 
duces a  sense  of  reverence  and  of  responsibility, 
or  it  causes  a  sort  of  self-itch.  That  word 
"  itch  "  may  not  seem  just  a  nice  word  to  use, 
but  it  is  so  accurate  and  graphic  that  I  think 
it  helps  to  use  it,  that  we  may  better  under- 
stand. 

Each  of  us  has  power  of  some  sort,  and  in 
some  degree,  some  more,  some  less.  It  may  be 
the  power  that  comes  through  the  possesion  of 
physical  beauty.  Beauty  gives  power  over  oth- 
ers.    It  may  be  power  through  a  keen  mind,  a 


$6       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

well-stored  and  well-trained  mind;  power  of 
personal  presence  and  touch,  of  wisdom,  of 
leadership  among  men  in  the  action  of  life; 
power  through  what  one  can  do;  power  through 
the  possession  of  money  which  is  so  enormous, 
or  power  by  reason  of  position  official  or  other- 
wise. Now  whatever  sort  of  power  it  may  be, 
and  in  whatever  degree  it  be  possessed,  it  has 
one  of  two  effects  upon  us. 

There  is  the  good  effect,  the  true  effect  that 
it  should  have — it  should  awe.  It  all  comes 
from  God.  It  is  given  us  by  Him.  It  is  not 
a  thing  that  we  possess  of  ourselves,  simply. 
It  is  a  gift.  That  should  awe  and  hum- 
ble us,  to  think  that  God  has  given  us  such  a 
gift. 

Then  it  is  a  trust.  God  entrusts  it  to  us.  We 
are  responsible  to  Him.  We  are  trustees.  No 
matter  what  the  power,  it  is  something  given  us 
by  God  in  trust.  As  we  realize  this  it  makes 
us  yet  more  humble  and  prayerful,  that  we  may 
be  true  to  the  trust,  and  make  the  best  use  of 
the  gift  for  God. 

And  then  it  may  be  used  among  men.  That 
is  the  purpose  in  its  being  given  to  us.  It  is 
for  others.  We  are  to  use  it  for  men's  sake,  in 
God's  name,  to  His  glory.  So  God  intended. 
That  is  the  threefold  fact  about  any  power  that 
you  and  I  possess.  And  to  realize  this  at  all 
makes  one  very  thoughtful  and  prayerful  that 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  57 

it  be  used  wholly  as  intended.     The  possession 

of    power    awes — that    is    the    true,  the    good 
effect. 


The  Itch  of  Power. 

Then  there  is  the  bad  effect,  where  the  hurt 
of  sin  gets  in.  It  itches.  There  is  the  itch  of 
thinking  that  you  have  it.  You  are  pleased  with 
yourself.  You  are  taken  up  with  the  fact  that 
you  have  the  power.  How  beautiful  you  are; 
how  mentally  keen;  how  well  you  do  certain 
things;  how  you  can  make  men  and  things  bend 
to  your  desires;  how  a  look,  or  a  word,  or  a 
finger  uplifted  makes  things  go.  It  may  not  be 
expressed  in  so  many  words ;  it  may  even  be  hid- 
den away  under  an  outside  of  apparent  hu- 
mility, but  you  feel  it;  you  know  it;  it  is  the 
dominant  thing  underneath  in  your  thoughts. 
That's  a  bit  of  the  itch  of  power. 

Then,  with  that,  goes  the  supposition  or  dis- 
tinctive feeling  that  this  power  is  from  yourself. 
It  is  really  due  to  you.  It  originates  in  you. 
That  is  the  reason  you  are  puffed  up  so  big. 
The  "  I  "  is  printed  so  big  as  to  belittle  all  the 
other  letters  of  the  alphabet,  even  the  letters 
G,  and  O,  and  D.  The  Giver  of  it  is  forgot. 
Mirrors  are  in  demand  here,  especially  the  sort 
that  cast  a  rosy-hued  glamour.  The  fact  of 
trusteeship   has    entirely   slipped   out  of   sight. 


58       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

The  upward  look  is  lost;  the  inward  look  ab- 
sorbs the  eyes. 

And  then  the  swing  over  into  the  next  stage 
is  very  smooth  and  easy.  This  power  is  to  be 
used  for  yourself.  The  one  passion  here  is  how 
to  use  it  all  for  your  own  advantage.  There 
may  be  giving,  or  doing  for  others,  but  this  is 
merely  incidental,  and  the  whole  tendency  is 
to  make  it  seem  as  big  as  possible.  The  pur- 
pose underneath  the  giving  or  the  doing,  is  to 
puff  up  the  sense  of  pride,  or  else  to  get  more 
for  yourself  in  return. 

These  are  the  two  effects  produced  by  the  pos- 
session of  power  of  any  sort;  the  good  and  the 
bad;  the  natural  and  the  unnatural — the  awing 
sense  of  God,  and  the  itching  sense  of  self. 

This  great  spirit-prince  has  great  power, 
power  of  beauty,  of  mental  and  spiritual  en- 
dowments, and  of  position.  They  were  given 
him  by  God  as  a  trust,  to  be  used  for  the  Giver. 
The  true  aim  of  his  life  was  to  glorify  God. 
That  was  God's  purpose  in  so  richly  endowing 
him.  He  was  to  administer  this  world  for  God. 
He  was  to  do  just  what  our  Lord  Jesus  will  do 
when  He  returns  to  set  up  the  kingdom  upon  the 
earth.  In  his  own  character,  may  I  say  very 
reverently,  he  was  to  be  what  our  Lord  Jesus 
was  in  His  character.  This  was  his  true  aim. 
The  possession  of  the  rare  power  entrusted  to 
him    was    meant    to    awe,    to    fill    him    with    a 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  59 

reverential  love  for  the  Giver,  and  an  earnest 
desire  to  be  true  to  the  great  trust  reposed  in 
him. 

The  true  ambition  underneath  his  aim  was  to 
be  a  tender,  burning  passion  for  God.  The 
God-passion,  the  one  dominant  desire  to  please 
God — this  was  to  be  the  one  fire  burning  in  his 
heart. 

What  is  his  aim?  and  what  his  ambition? 
They  follow  the  line  of  the  true,  but  with  this 
startling  difference,  he  puts  himself  in  the  place 
of  God.  The  one  aim  of  his  life,  mark  it  very 
keenly,  is  to  get  the  world  for  himself!  He 
would  drive  God  out,  and  have  all  for  himself. 
He  would  dethrone  God,  and  take  the  throne 
himself.  He  would  kill  God  off  that  he  himself 
might  be  supreme. 

It  is  with  greatest  difficulty  that  such  words 
can  be  spoken  or  written.  They  seem  blas- 
phemous. They  are  blasphemous.  His  whole 
burning,  driving  aim  is  just  that — blasphemous! 
Yet  mark  very  keenly  that  it  is  a  very  common 
blasphemy  in  our  common  life. 

Satan-Worship. 

And  the  ambition  underneath  this  aim  is — 
himself.  The  self-passion  burns  so  fiercely 
within  him  that  all  else  is  consumed  in  its  flame. 
The  shorter  spelling  of  Satan  is,  s-e-l-f.     The 


6o       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

preat  passion  of  his  heart  is  to  be  worshipped. 
And  it  is  starthng  how  far  he  has  succeeded  in 
having  this  passion  satisfied.  Devil-worship  is 
very  common  in  Africa,  and  in  other  heathen 
lands.  There  are  said  to  be  societies  for  devil- 
worship  in  Paris.  But  it  concerns  us  to  mark 
keenly  that  it  is  not  needful  to  go  either  to 
heathendom  or  Paris  to  find  Satan-worship. 

For  worship  means  the  ascription  of  worth. 
And  the  Satan-spirit  is  simply  the  self-spirit, 
in  some  one  of  its  numerous  forms.  And  there 
is  nothing  commoner  in  all  life  than  the  self- 
spirit.  Sometimes  it  is  very  cultured.  It  takes 
a  very  high  polish.  It  sometimes  wears  saintly 
garb,  and  is  skilled  in  the  use  of  religious  phrase- 
ology. Wherever  that  self-spirit,  that  self-seek- 
ing spirit  rules  the  inner  motive  there  is  the 
thing  Satan  is  after — the  worship  of  himself. 
Imitation  is  the  sincerest  worship.  It  is  not 
thought  of  in  any  such  blunt  fashion,  of  course. 
The  very  suggestion  that  any  of  us  is  indulging 
Satan-worship   is   repugnant. 

And  of  course  no  one  of  us  may  say  it  of  any 
other  one.  I  am  merely  talking  in  this  blunt 
way,  and  turning  in  this  terrible  searching  light 
upon  the  Satan  character,  and  the  Satan  char- 
acteristic, that  you  and  I  may  go  aside  thought- 
fully and  prayerfully,  alone  with  God,  that  we 
may  see  within  what  He  sees.  Satan  really  be- 
comes a  mirror  for  our  use.     As  we  talk  over 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  6i 

his  characteristics,  does  there  come  up  to  our 
eyes  anything  of  this  same  sort  within?  As 
his  aim  and  ambition  come  out  thus  sharply,  are 
you  conscious,  or  maybe  only  half-conscious  of 
something  of  the  same  sort  within?     Of  course, 

not  in  such  degree  probably,  and  yet The 

truth  is  that  no  one  of  us  can  look  into  this 
picture  of  the  evil  one  without  being  aware  of 
the  distinct  resemblances  between  him,  and  cer- 
tain characteristics  within  ourselves. 

In  some  degree  we  know  the  very  common 
thing  called  selfishness  can  be  found  within.  It 
is  shocking  to  find  that  this  is  simply  the  Satan- 
spirit.  It  is  painfully  searching  to  think  pray- 
erfully of  these  Satan  marks  and  traits.  It  is 
startling  in  the  extreme  to  think  that  we  may 
have  been  helping  Satan  in  any  way;  that  lie 
has  been  depending  much  upon  us  in  furthermg 
his  ambitious  aims.  Yet  every  bit  of  selfish- 
ness in  you  or  me  spells  out  partnership  with 
him.  Selfishness,  the  self-spirit,  the  keeping 
for  ourselves  of  anything  that  is  not  needful 
for  strength,  and  that  might  be  out  in  blessed 
service  among  men  for  our  Master,  that  is  the 
Satan-spirit.  That  is  a  footing  for  him  in  our 
lives.  It  not  only  means  an  emptying  of  our 
own  lives  of  God's  own  presence  and  power, 
but  vastly  more  and  sadder  than  that — it  is  an 
active,  positive  help  to  Satan  in  achieving  his 
aims.     Satan  is  a  mirror.     He  reflects  to  our 


62       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

eyes  whatever  there  is  of  the  same  sort  within 
ourselves. 


The  True  Aim. 


There  is  another  mirror  that  this  Word  of 
God  holds  up  to  our  eyes.  It  is  the  character 
of  our  Lord  Jesus.  I  speak  of  Him  because 
He  and  Satan  are  the  two  great  claimants  for 
our  allegiance.  They  are  the  two  great  rivals. 
Our  Lord's  character  here  is  revealed  no  bet- 
ter than  in  some  words  He  spoke  about  Himself. 
And  all  men  have  agreed  that  what  He  said 
about  Himself  here  is  true.  He  said  "  I  came 
.  .  .  not  to  do  my  own  will  but  the  will  of 
Him  who  sent  me." 

That  was  the  undercurrent  of  his  life  through- 
out; in  the  commonplace  Nazareth  village,  and 
home,  and  carpenter  shop,  through  the  years  of 
tireless  ministering  to  the  hungry  crowds,  in 
the  bitterness  of  the  Gethsemane  suffering,  in 
the  untold  agony  of  the  Cross.  Like  an  under- 
current of  music  it  runs  through  all  His  life. 
Sacrifice  was  gladly  yielded  to,  pain  was  cheer- 
fully suffered,  even  while  the  knife  cut  in  deep — 
service  was  a  delight,  because  in  these  He  was 
carrying  out  His  Father's  plan. 

The  purpose  of  His  life  was  to  do  His  Fa- 
ther's will;  the  passion,  the  Father  Himself. 
The  gripping,  controlling  aim  was  the  Father's 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  6^ 

plan;  the  burning  ambition  underneath,  the  Fa- 
ther— a  tender  love-passion  for  the  Father. 

This  is  the  contrasting  mirror  held  up  to  our 
faces.  We  might  shrink  from  saying  that  this 
finds  a  reflection  in  us.  And  yet  down  in  the 
inner  purpose  of  the  heart,  that  can  be  the  one 
gripping,  dominant  thing.  It  has  been  the  grip- 
ping, purpose-passion  that  has  swayed  His  true 
followers  in  every  age;  and  it  is  all  by  His 
wondrous  grace.  Wherever  His  Spirit  is  al- 
lowed to  dominate  this  will  be  the  gripping 
passion  and  purpose. 

Please  mark  very  keenly  this,  that  one  of 
these  two  characteristics  dominates  every  man's 
life,  either  the  Satan-characteristic  or  the  Jesus- 
characteristic.  The  absence  of  the  one  tells  of 
the  presence  of  the  other.  By  so  much  as  our 
Lord's  own  purpose  and  passion  do  not  control, 
by  just  that  much  is  Satan  in,  and  making  use 
of  us.  This  is  simply  the  very  old  question  of 
consecration  or  surrender  from  another  stand- 
point— the  Satan  standpoint. 

A  Sensitive  Thermometer. 


Let  the  thoughtful  earnest  man  look  a  bit 
at  his  inner  motives  from  this  point  of  view. 
Let  there  be  no  morbid  spirit  of  extreme  in- 
trospection, but  a  simple,  wholesome  look 
within.     For  example,  there  is  no  more  sensi- 


64       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

tive  thermometer  than  the  money-thermometer, 
by  which  to  find  the  degree  of  heat  of  one's 
passion  for  doing  the  Father's  will.  Let  a  man 
quietly  alone  ask  himself  how  far  the  money  he 
controls  is  being  used  as  our  Lord  would  have 
it  used,  and  how  far  it  is  being  used  for  him- 
self. 

Remember  it  is  right  to  use  some  of  it,  a 
proper  proportion  for  one's  self  and  one's  own; 
to  do  all  that  is  needful  for  strength  and  com- 
fort. Remember,  too,  that  the  passion  of  our 
Lord's  heart  is  to  have  all  men  know  fully  and 
tenderly  about  His  love  and  death  for  them; 
and  that  to-day  two-thirds  of  them  do  not 
know  anything  about  Him,  and  thousands  of 
the  other  third  know  very  little.  I  am  not  talk- 
ing about  the  very  proper  thing  of  conscien- 
tiously giving  a  tenth  of  one's  income.  This 
question  goes  very  much  deeper — how  far  am 
I  controlled  in  the  money  I  control  by  the  pas- 
sion that  controls  my  Lord's  heart? 

And  of  course  the  answer  is  not  to  be  made 
to  anybody  else,  but  to  one's  self,  and  one's 
Master  only.  And  that  answer  is  not  an  answer 
of  the  lips.  It  is  made  entirely  by  what  propor- 
tion of  one's  money  is  actually  being  used,  or 
held,  for  one's  self  or  one's  own,  and  what  pro- 
portion is  being  used  in  satisfying  the  burning 
passion  of  our  Lord's  heart  for  His  world. 

There   are   other   thermometers   that  can   be 


His  Aim  and  Ambition  6^ 

used  in  taking  the  heart  temperature.  This  is 
only  one.  It  is  a  very  sensitive  one.  Perhaps 
most  times  it  comes  nearest  to  telling  how  far 
the  warm  love  of  our  Lord's  heart  is  affecting 
the  temperature  of  our  own.  By  so  far  as  the 
passion  of  our  Lord's  heart  is  not  dominant  in 
ours,  by  just  that  much  is  this  traitor-prince 
having  use  of  us.  It  is  a  very  searching  ques- 
tion. It  is  not  a  question  for  any  of  us  to 
ask  another,  but  only  for  each  to  ask  himself, 
or  better  yet  to  ask  His  Lord,  off  alone  in  the 
secret  place. 

David's  prayer  might  be  brought  into  use 
again,  with  a  new  meaning,  in  the  light  of  this 
subtle  Satan-characteristic: — search  me,  O  God, 
and  know  my  heart,  and  let  me  know  what  Thou 
dost  find  there.  Apply  the  fire  test  to  my  con- 
trolling passions  and  purposes,  and  let  me  see 
how  much  dross  Thou  dost  find  there.  See  if 
there  be  anything  there  that  pains  Thy  heart, 
and  let  me  see  as  much  of  what  Thou  dost  see 
as  I  can  stand;  and — I  wonder  if  one's  courage 
will  stand  the  test  of  that  closing  petition — 
lead  me  out  of  that  way,  into  Thy  way,  the 
Lord- Jesus-way,  the  way  everlasting. 


HIS  DEFEAT 

Great — Greater. 


Satan  is  being  forgot.  That  is  the  chief  dan- 
ger regarding  him  to-day  among  Christian  peo- 
ple as  well  as  others.  He  is  ignored,  even 
where  he  is  believed  in  as  an  actual  personality. 

There  is  a  feeling  among  earnest,  godly  peo- 
ple that  this  is  a  dreadful  subject.  Better  put 
it  aside,  and  go  on  doing  the  best  you  can  in 
earnest  dependence  upon  God's  grace.  The 
thought  of  Satan  gives  a  feeling  of  dread,  al- 
most akin  to  horror.  The  result  is  a  failure 
to  get  definite,  clear  thought  about  him,  so  as 
to  resist  him  more  intelligently  and  victoriously 
in  the  great  Victor's  great  Name.  Satan  is 
practically  ignored  and  forgot.  That  is  very 
bad.  It  leaves  him  free  to  work.  That  is  the 
most  common  danger  to-day  regarding  him. 

There  is  a  second  danger  less  common,  but 
not  less  real;  namely,  that  we  shall  think  too 
much  of  him,  when  we  begin  to  study  the  teach- 
ings of  God's  Word  about  him.  Unless  we  are 
on  our  guard  against  it,  there  is  an  easy  tend- 
ency to  think  that  he  is  bigger  and  stronger 
than  he  is.  That  is  bad,  too. 
66 


His  Defeat  67 

Extremes  are  always  bad,  and  work  harm. 
We  want  to  keep  the  poise  between  the  two, 
though  that  is  the  hardest  thing  to  do,  and  the 
rarest  thing  to  find.  He  should  not  be  mini- 
mized nor  magnified.  Clear  outlines  will  let  us 
see  him  as  he  is,  neither  smaller  nor  bigger. 
And  this  will  be  an  immense  help  in  resisting 
him,  as  we  are  bidden  to  do.  Our  resistance 
of  him,  in  our  Lord  Jesus'  Name,  will  become 
an  immense  factor  in  undercutting  his  activity 
and  power. 

There  are  two  things  that  help  immensely  in 
correcting  this  second  danger — the  danger  of 
being  afraid  of  him,  as  we  learn  how  real 
he  is,  and  how  tremendous  is  the  power  he 
wields. 

The  first  is  always  to  couple  the  Name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  with  Satan's,  in  all  our  thinking. 
Remember  Satan,  big,  bold,  cunning,  sleepless, 
and  quite  too  much  for  any  one  of  us  alone. 
We  are  clear  outmastered  by  him  at  every  turn. 
Don't  get  him  in  too  big — nor  too  small,  just  the 
right  size,  as  revealed  to  us  in  the  Book. 

But — but,  remember  Jesus  too;  He  is  bigger 
and  stronger.  He  is  more  than  a  match  for  Sa- 
tan. You  and  I  are  clean  out-matched  by 
Satan,  out-classed  and  out-done;  but  Satan  is 
clean  out-matched  by  our  blessed  Lord  Jesus, 
clean  out-classed  and  out-done.  We  can't  hold 
our  own  alone  against  Satan,  and — blessed  fact 


68       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

for  us! — he  can't  hold  his  own  for  a  moment 
against  our  Lord. 

Always  couple  the  two  names.  Satan — big 
and  strong,  wily  and  persistent  and  aggressive. 
Be  wary  of  him — keenly,  intelligently,  earnestly 
wary  of  him.  And  Jesus — bigger  to  the  point 
of  being  almighty,  stronger,  wise  in  conflict,  re- 
sourceful in  battle,  and  who  undertakes  for  us. 
Remember  Jesus,  our  Lord.  That's  the  first 
thing  that  helps.  The  second  is  this,  remember 
that  Satan  is  defeated.  We  are  fighting  a  de- 
feated foe,  who  has  all  the  enormous  handicap 
of  a  defeat  behind  him.  He  is  defeated,  and 
he  knows  it. 


Opening  a  Way  for  God. 

We  have  the  great  advantage  of  fighting  a 
defeated  foe.  All  the  stinging  sense  of  defeat, 
the  disappointment  and  disheartening  that  de- 
feat makes  he  knows.  And  all  the  swing  and 
spirit,  the  joyousness  and  elasticity  of  action, 
that  comes  from  an  assured  victory  already  got- 
ten, we  have  in  our  Lord  Jesus.  We  ought  to 
sing  as  we  fight. 

There  is  a  fine,  free  reading  of  a  verse  in  the 
Fiftieth  Psalm  that  helps  greatly  in  the  thick 
of  the  fight.  It  runs  like  this,  "  whoso  offereth 
the  oflfering  of  thanksgiving  glorifieth  Me;  and 
openeth  a  way  that  I  may  show  him  the  vie- 


His  Defeat  69 

tory  of  God."  ^  That  victory  is  already  accom- 
plished. Our  spirit  of  thanksgiving  (which  is 
faith  at  its  best)  enables  God  to  reveal  all 
afresh  in  our  lives  the  victory  already  won  for 
us! 

Sing  as  you  fight.  Pull  out  the  organ  stops 
and  loosen  the  swells,  and  let  the  cheeriest,  most 
joyous  music  of  heart  and  voice  out.  For  our 
enemy  is  defeated.  Our  Lord,  our  Friend,  is 
Victor.  And  our  resisting  shall  make  his  defeat 
more  marked,  and  make  it  a  more  real  thing 
in  our  own  lives,  and  in  our  service  among 
others. 

It  seems  just  a  bit  strange  to  be  talking  about 
fighting  when  the  foe  has  been  decidedly  de- 
feated. A  decisive,  overwhelming  defeat  of  the 
chief  of  forces  usually  settles  a  conflict.  There 
is  a  reason,  and  we  will  talk  together  about 
that  in  our  next  talk.  Just  now  the  fact  we 
want  to  mark  down  big  is  that  our  tempter  is 
fighting  us  against  the  heavy  odds  of  a  sting- 
ing defeat. 

We  can  understand  that  defeat  better  if  we 
will  note  the  difference  between  the  Satan-spirit 
and  the  Jesus-spirit. 

The   core   of    the    Satan-spirit   is    this, — self, 

pride, — which  is  the  assertion  of  self,  the  sense 

of  inner  satisfaction  with  yourself;  conceit  and 

egotism,    the    undue    sense    of    one's    own    im- 

^  Psalm  1.  2z. 


70       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

portance,  and  with  that  always,  independence  of 
God.  The  feeling  of  one's  own  sufficiency  al- 
ways makes  us  feel  independent  of  God,  that 
we  do  not  need  Him,  and  can  get  along  well 
enough  by  ourselves,  by  depending  upon 
ourselves. 

The  selfish  spirit  not  only  ignores  God,  but 
it  ignores  the  needs  of  others.  Luxury  is  a 
direct  outcome  of  the  Satan — the  selfish  spirit. 
Whatever  adds  to  our  strength  is  properly 
classed  as  a  necessity.  All  beyond  that  is  lux- 
ury. The  self-spirit  always  breeds  luxury.  Yet 
luxury  always  spells  out  somebody  else's  need 
unsupplied.  Every  bit  that  is  being  kept  for 
ourselves,  beyond  the  line  of  what  will  make 
us  stronger  in  body  and  mind,  speaks  out  the 
crying  need  of  the  great  crowds  who  make  up 
the  majority  of  our  race.  We  hold  for  our- 
selves what  we  do  not  need,  while  two-thirds 
of  our  brothers  of  the  race  are  perishing  in 
their  need  of  the  Bread  of  Life.  This  is  essen- 
tially the  self-spirit,  it  is  the  very  core  of  the 
Satan-spirit. 

The  Spirit  that  Won. 


In  sharpest  contrast  with  this  is  the  spirit 
that  controlled  Jesus  when  living  His  human 
life  among  us.  It  was  a  spirit  of  selflessness,  a 
spirit  of  utter  self-abnegation.     He  did  not  go 


His  Defeat  71 

to  the  unwise  extreme  of  neglecting  what  was 
needful  for  His  strength  as  a  man.  He  surely 
did  not  over-use  His  strength  though  that  was 
one  of  His  constant  temptations,  as  with  the 
man  now  who  feels  the  needs  of  others  press- 
ing in  so  sorely  upon  him.  For  the  sake  of 
these  multitudes  He  conserved  His  strength 
that  He  might  minister  to  them  the  better.  The 
whole  spirit  of  His  life  was  for  others. 

And  underneath  that  was  something  deeper, 
explaining  that.  He  had  a  passion  for  the  Fa- 
ther. In  the  place  of  the  passion  for  self  was 
the  God-passion.  And  if  you  will  mark  it  very 
keenly  this  was  revealed  most  in  the  obedience 
of  His  life.  This  is  the  very  inner  heart  of 
the  Jesus-spirit — obedience.  This  was  the  one 
unfailing  warp  into  which  all  the  cross  threads 
of  His  earthly  life  were  woven. 

Cut  in  underneath  at  any  point  in  His  char- 
acter, and  this  is  the  controlling  motive.  He 
reveals  His  passion  for  the  Father  in  this — 
His  glad,  full  obedience  to  the  Father,  no  mat- 
ter what  it  meant.  The  obedience  reveals  the 
passion.  The  passion  found  its  full  expression 
in  the  obedience.  That  passion  and  obedience 
were  revealed  much  in  the  Nazareth  life,  but 
most  on  Calvary.  The  obedience  was  not  sim- 
ply in  life,  but  unto  death,  even  the  worst  sort 
of  death  that  could  be  devised,  with  all  the  hor- 
rible   cruelties    and    indignities    that    sin    could 


72       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

think  of.  The  sacrificial  spirit  is  the  very  heart 
of  the  Jesus-spirit.  Not  seeking  sacrifice,  but 
yielding  to  it,  as  it  comes  in  the  pathway  of 
obedience. 

This  is  the  innermost  spirit  of  the  Jesus- 
spirit — the  passion  for  the  Father,  which  leads 
to  utter  self-obHteration  in  the  good  sense,  in 
a  life  of  glad  obedience,  even  to  the  point  of 
keenest  suffering  and   severest  sacrifice. 

This  sharp  contrast  between  these  two  spirits 
will  help  us  to  understand  the  defeat  of  Satan, 
how  crushing  it  was,  and  further  it  points  out 
the  way  on  our  side,  and  the  only  way  whereby 
he  can  be  defeated  on  the  battlefield  of  each 
of  our  lives. 


Defeated  by  a  Life. 


Satan  was  defeated  by  our  Lord  Jesus.  There 
were  two  steps  or  stages  in  that  defeat.  The 
first  was  in  the  life  He  lived.  That  life  ran 
through  thirty-three  years  and  a  bit  more.  It 
was  a  long  battle,  and  the  defeat  administered 
was  all  the  more  conclusive,  and  sure,  and 
crushing,  because  of  its  length. 

First  of  all  came  that  Nazareth  life.  The  one 
word  that  marks  that  Nazareth  life,  and  sums 
it  up,  is  the  great,  simple  word  "  obedience." 
From  the  early,  tender  years,  when  the  con- 
sciousness of  His  mission  first  began  to  come 


His  Defeat  73 

to  Him,  on  through  the  years  of  growth  and 
maturity,  He  obeyed.     He  insisted  on  obeying. 

Jesus  insisted  on  going  that  daily  common- 
place routine :  white-washed  cottage  home,  com- 
panionship with  his  fellow-workmen  and  fel- 
low-villagers, long  hours  in  a  wood-working 
shop,  driving  nails,  pushing  a  plane,  mending 
ploughs  and  yokes  for  customers  hard  to  please 
sometimes.  That  was  the  Father's  plan  for  His 
life.  He  obeyed,  because  it  was  the  Father's 
plan,  li  the  Nazareth  round  be  put  in  sharp 
contrast  with  the  conditions  to  which  the  Son 
of  God  was  accustomed  in  His  Father's  pres- 
ence— His  intense  humility  stands  sharply  out. 

Did  no  temptation  come  to  Him  those  Naz- 
areth days  to  quit  that  retired  humble  round 
and  go  forth  to  let  men  know  who  He  was,  and 
why  He  had  come?  Look  at  Him  a  moment 
in  Nazareth.  He  is,  say,  twenty-eight  years  of 
age,  in  the  maturity  of  His  human  strength  as 
a  man.  Yet  He  goes  the  old  humble  common- 
place round  in  that  shut-away  village,  in  the 
little  narrow-walled  cottage  home,  rising  early, 
helping  about  the  home,  then  down  the  street 
with  a  cheery  "  good-morning "  to  neighbour 
and  fellow-craftsmen,  then  the  carpenter  shop, 
mending  a  table,  smoothing  up  carefully  the 
handle  of  a  plough,  at  it  for  long  hours,  then 
home  again  for  the  frugal  meal,  with  the  small 
familiar  talk  of  a  home  circle  around  a  table. 


74       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Then  Hkely  as  not  talking  over  with  the  mother 
of  the  home  the  ever  present  problems  of  house- 
keeping, figuring  out  the  slender  funds  to  meet 
obligations,  and  so  on,  and  so  on. 

Does  any  one  of  you  think  that  no  such  temp- 
tation as  this  came  subtly  stealing  in  those 
days :  ''  what  are  You  doing  here  in  this  shut- 
away  corner.  You  are  the  Son  of  God !  (no 
*  if  Thou  be'  then)  You  have  a  mission  to  the 
whole  world ;  it  is  such  a  needy  world  too ;  so 
needy.  You  are  to  redeem  a  ivorld.  This  is  no 
place  for  You;  assert  Yourself,  as  the  Son  of 
God,  for  the  good  of  the  world." 

Did  no  such  insinuating  voice  speak  such 
words  in  His  ear?  No  one  who  knows  the 
tempter  can  doubt  it.  But  faithfully,  steadily, 
obediently  He  went  the  old  round  up  to  the 
very  last,  when  the  Father's  voice  sent  Him 
forth.  The  one  touch-stone  of  His  life  was 
obedience  to  His  Father's  plan. 

A  Running  Fight. 

In  that  obedience  He  was  cutting  straight 
across  the  character  and  life  of  the  traitor- 
prince  of  this  world.  He  was  holding  the  title 
to  all  the  Father  had  given  Him  by  His  obedi- 
ence. He  was  undermining  Satan's  hold  upon 
the  race  and  the  earth.  His  obedience  was  the 
defeating  of  Satan. 


His  Defeat  75 

The  one  temptation,  that  came  in  a  thousand 
differing  ways,  was  to  turn  aside,  if  only  by  so 
much  as  a  hair's  breadth  from  the  Father's  will. 
The  one  answer  was  unflinching,  unfailing  obe- 
dience. And  in  that  He  was  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  the  final  defeat  of  the  traitor-usurper- 
prince. 

In  His  Nazareth  life  our  Lord  reveals  His 
utter  humility,  His  rare  simplicity.  His  warm 
sympathy  with  men,  and  His  spirit  of  sacrifice 
for  others.  And  each  of  these  is  in  direct  con- 
trast to  the  character  of  Satan. 

But  the  chief  thing  underneath  all  the  rest, 
the  thing  that  controlled  Him  was  the  obedience 
to  His  Father's  plan  for  His  life.  That  was  the 
basis  of  the  defeat  of  the  evil  one.  K  Jesus  had 
diverged  by  so  much  as  a  hair's  breadth,  the 
tempter  would  have  been  victorious.  By  re- 
maining true  He  was  defeated  so  far. 

Then  follows  the  great  Wilderness  tempta- 
tion. His  public  ministry  was  prefaced  with 
this  terrific,  though  subtle,  onset  by  the  tempter. 
But  again,  our  Lord  held  true  and  steady  to 
the  Father's  will.  The  touch-stone  of  the  Naz- 
areth life  is  the  touch-stone  of  the  Wilderness 
victory,  namely,  full  obedience  to  the  Father's 
will  and  the  Father's  time.  The  Wilderness 
temptation  ended  in  victory  for  Jesus — and  so 
in  defeat  for  the  tempter. 

And  following  that  came  the  three  years  and 


76       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

a  half  of  public  ministry.  They  were  years  of 
temptation,  subtle  and  stormy,  of  attack  in 
every  conceivable  shape  by  the  enemy;  of  sharp 
struggle  and  conflict  with  the  evil  one  and  his 
forces.  Behind  demons,  behind  human  leaders, 
even  behind  ignorant  friends  and  followers,  the 
enemy  came,  ceaselessly,  day  and  night,  doing 
his  best  and  his  worst,  with  his  subtlest  devices 
and  his  greatest  resources. 

It  awes  one  greatly  to  draw  near  our  Lord 
at  certain  stages,  and  note  by  the  tensity  of  His 
spirit,  how  fierce  the  onset  was.  One  can  al- 
most hear  the  deep-drawn  breathing,  and  see  the 
moist  brow,  and  the  firmly  locked  jaw,  and  hear 
the  earnestly  breathed  prayer. 

He  never  flinched  and  He  never  failed.  He 
was  a  Victor  at  every  step,  by  His  full  fol- 
lowing of  the  path  marked  out  for  Him.  And 
His  victory  spells  out  the  defeat  of  the  tempter. 
Each  advancing  hour  of  continued,  steady  on- 
going was  a  deepening  and  intensifying  of  the 
defeat  of  the  tempter.  So  our  Lord  defeated 
Satan  in  and  by  His  life. 

The  Climax. 


Then  came  the  climax — the  defeat  in  His 
death.  Jesus  was  obedient  not  only  in  life,  but 
even  to  the  terrible  experience  of  death,  aye, 
the  most  shameful  and  cruel  of  all  deaths,  the 


His  Defeat  77 

death  of  the  Cross.  He  was  first  of  all  obe- 
dient in  His  life  on  earth,  then  He  carried  that 
obedience  right  on  into  Satan's  own  domain, 
the  domain  of  death.  He  hesitated  not  to  die, 
though  death  was  never  made  so  dreadful 
and  awful  a  thing  before,  nor  since.  If  Jesus 
would  insist  on  obeying  even  to  the  point 
of  death  then  Satan  was  set  on  it  that  He 
should  know  the  worst  that  could  be  known 
in  death. 

By  His  death  He  did  a  three-fold  thing  and 
that  tells  of  the  three-fold  defeat  of  Satan. 
Through  sin  Satan  had  done  three  things.  He 
cast  a  blot  on  God's  administration  of  the  uni- 
verse; on  the  perfect  righteousness  of  His  rule. 
Sin  is  a  slander  on  God's  righteousness.  He 
got  a  claim  upon  men  who  in  sinning  yielded 
allegiance  to  the  tempter  and  so  became  his 
slaves;  and  he  hardened  the  human  heart 
against  God. 

Our  Lord's  death  smote  Satan  hip  and  thigh 
at  each  of  these  points.  He  vindicated  the 
righteousness  of  God,  He  forever  freed  us  from 
the  slavery  of  Satan,  and  He  melted  our  hearts 
by  such  a  wondrous  love.  The  man  whose  heart 
is  broken  by  such  love  comes  back  home  to  God. 
And  because  of  the  death  of  Jesus,  God  is 
"  reckoned  righteous  in  reckoning  righteous  the 
man  who  has  faith  in  Jesus."  '  And  the  hold 
^Romans  iii.  26,  free  translation. 


78       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

upon  us  which  our  sin  gives  to  Satan  is  for- 
ever shaken  off.  In  His  death  Jesus  adminis- 
tered a  defeat  to  our  enemy  on  every  side. 

And  as  the  death  was  the  climax  of  the  life, 
even  so  the  resurrection  became  the  climax  of 
the  death.  And  our  Lord  of  His  own  accord 
went  down  into  the  jaws  of  death,  into  the 
belly  of  hell  on  our  behalf,  in  our  place,  as  our 
substitute;  then  having  fully  defeated  Satan  by 
that  act.  He  rose  up  by  His  own  will,  up  again 
into  life.  In  His  death  He  was  Victor  over 
sin.  In  His  rising  again  He  was  Victor  over 
death.     In  both  He  was  Victor  over  Satan. 

And  every  spelling  of  that  word  *'  victory " 
is  a  spelling  in  big  letters  of  the  word  "  defeat." 
Loosen  all  the  bell-ropes.  Ring  out  the  bells 
clear  and  loud.  Our  enemy  is  defeated.  Pull 
out  the  organ  stops,  free  the  swells,  and  let 
the  joyous  thunder  of  the  full  diapason  get  out. 
Our  Lord  Jesus  is  Victor.  Our  enemy  is  a 
badly  whipped  foe. 

The  Second  Defeat. 

Then  there  is  the  second  defeat.  But,  you 
say,  why  a  second?  That  question  has  an  in- 
tensely practical  bearing  on  your  life  and  mine. 
The  first  defeat  was  on  the  battlefield  of  the 
earth.  The  second  is  to  be  on  the  battlefield 
of  each  man's  life. 


His  Defeat  79 

Every  man  decides  his  own  life  and  settles 
the  outcome  of  his  own  battles  by  the  way  he 
chooses.  Every  man  is  a  sovereign  in  his  own 
will.  What  our  Lord  has  done  for  us,  we  must 
each  accept  and  claim  for  ourselves.  Our  Lord 
defeated  Satan  on  our  behalf.  We  must  each 
of  us  claim  all  the  power  of  that  defeat  on  the 
battlefield  of  our  own  lives. 

Jesus  taught  us  to  pray,  "  lead  us  not  into 
temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one." 
He  was  led  up  to  be  tempted,  and  He  was  vic- 
torious in  the  temptation.  We  men  have  been 
tempted,  and  failed.  But  in  Jesus  the  Victor's 
Name,  we  claim  His  victory  in  our  temptations. 
We  cannot  stand  being  tempted.  Eden  proves 
that,  and  every  man  and  every  day  since  Eden 
makes  it  plainer.  We  can't  stand  temptation 
alone.  We  must  go  in  Another's  strength,  and 
in  Another's  victory. 

"  Lead  us  not "  means  that  we  get  in  close 
behind  our  Victor,  and  claim  what  He  has  done 
for  us.  But  each  of  us  must  do  that.  With 
greatest  reverence  let  it  be  said  that  our  Lord 
Jesus  cannot  decide  my  battles,  my  temptations 
for  me.  He  wins  the  victory  for  me.  Then  I 
must  claim  that  victory  in  my  own  firm  decision 
to  resist  the  evil  one. 

The  second  defeat  is  to  be  on  the  battlefield 
of  my  will,  in  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
And  that  defeat  may   be  just  as   radical   and 


8o       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

sweeping  in  my  life,  as  it  was  on  the  Cross, 
and   the   resurrection  morning. 

May  I  close  this  simple  talk  by  putting,  in 
a  brief  word,  how  that  defeat  may  become  a 
real  thing  to  me  every  day?  First  of  all  by 
trusting  in  the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  We 
overcome  on  the  ground  of  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.'  We  hide  ourselves  in  Him,  and  claim 
all  the  power  of  His  victory,  for  ourselves  in 
our  conflict. 

Then  there  must  be  the  full  glad  surrender 
of  life  to  the  mastery  of  our  great  Victor- 
Friend.  That  means  the  recognizing  and  yield- 
ing to  the  gracious  sovereignty  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  at  every  turn,  in  every  act,  until  it  be- 
comes as  habitual  as  breathing. 

It  means  that  there  will  be  the  same  obedi- 
ence, the  same  self-forgetting  humility,  the  same 
tender,  loving  sympathy  with  men,  the  same 
simplicity  of  life,  the  same  glad  willingness  to 
sacrifice  for  the  needs  of  others,  as  marked  our 
Lord's  Nazareth  life.  This  will  be  the  stand- 
ard habitually  kept  before  the  eyes  of  our  spirit. 
For  the  Holy  Spirit  works  out  in  us  the  life 
and  spirit  of  our  Lord  Jesus. 

Then   there  is   something  else  on   the   Satan 

side    of    things.      We    should   become    keen    in 

recognising  him.     Recognition  of  temptation  is 

half  the  fight  against  it.     And  with  recognition 

*  Revelation  xii.  ii. 


His  Defeat  8i 

must  follow  resistance,  quick  and  sharp.  Re- 
sist the  devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you/  He 
knows  that  he  is  defeated.  He  knows  that  he 
can't  stand  up  before  Jesus'  victory.  As  we 
resist  steadily  he  must  leave,  and  he  will,  slowly, 
angrily,  but  surely  before  the  power  of  Jesus' 
Name. 

Resist  Satan  actively  and  aggressively.  Learn 
to  recognize  his  step  and  voice,  and  tricky  de- 
vices, and  then  put  up  an  earnest  fight  in  the 
Victor's  Name,  and  Satan  will  know  his  second 
great  defeat  on  the  battlefield  of  your  life. 
*  I  James  iv.  7 ;  i  Peter  v.  8,  9. 


HIS  PRESENT  STRUGGLE 

EacJi  one  must  choose. 


Every  man  must  make  his  own  decisions.  No 
one  can  make  a  choice  for  another.  Every  man 
must  do  his  own  thinking. 

We  can  accept  another's  choice  for  ourselves, 
but  that  is  simply  accepting  the  other's  help  in 
making  the  choice.  We  still  choose  to  take  his 
choice  as  our  own.  Another  could  not  choose 
for  us  unless  we  were  willing.  That  is,  of 
course,  where  there  is  no  force  or  coercion 
used,  but  every  man  free  to  act  as  God  in- 
tended he  should.  Just  as  certainly  every  man 
must  do  his  own  fighting,  and  lose  or  win  the 
fight. 

With  the  greatest  reverence  let  it  be  said  that 
God  cannot  make  decisions  for  us.  With  the 
same  reverence  be  it  said,  too,  that  not  even 
our  Lord  Jesus  can  fight  our  fights  for  us.  He 
can  put  all  of  His  power,  and  all  the  advantage 
of  His  sweeping  victory  at  our  disposal.  But 
we  must  choose  to  accept  and  use.  He  works 
through  us.  So  working  He  makes  our  vic- 
tory as  full  and  sure  and  sweeping  as  His  own, 
82 


His  Present  Struggle  83 

by  placing  His  strength  at  our  disposal.  Every 
victory  won  is  by  His  strength  through  our  own 
wills. 

This  explains  why  there  should  be  a  present 
struggle  going  on  by  Satan.  It  seems  strange 
that  after  a  defeat,  the  defeated  is  left  free 
to  fight.  Defeat,  of  as  radical  and  crushing  and 
sweeping  a  sort  as  Satan  has  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  our  Lord,  usually  means  a  settling  of 
the  conflict  at  once  and  forever.  But  here  is 
a  strange  and  striking  exception.  Satan  has 
been  defeated,  but  he  has  been  and  is  fighting 
as  hard  as  ever,  apparently,  and  with  tremen- 
dous results  for  himself.  Why  is  this?  The 
question  is  an  intensely  practical  one,  or  I 
certainly  would  not  bring  it  up,  here.  For  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight  there  is  only  time  and 
spirit  for  the  intensely  practical.  And  the  an- 
swer is  tremendously  practical,  because  the 
whole  matter  is  thrown  over  upon  our  action. 

It  is  because  of  us,  that  the  fight  continues. 
Were  it  not  for  us  men,  and  the  part  we  have 
in  this  thing,  Satan's  activity  would  have  been 
summarily  settled  long  ago. 

The  core  of  the  answer  is  gotten  at  once  by 
noticing  that  our  Lord  Jesus  was  acting  for  us. 
His  whole  life  as  well  as  His  death  was  on 
our  behalf.  It  was  for  our  sakes  that  He 
came  down  to  this  earth,  and  lived  as  He  did, 
and  was  tempted,  and  suffered,  and  died.    His 


84      Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

whole    thought    was    to    do    something    in    our 
place. 

It  was  something  in  which  we  had  sorely 
failed.  Our  failure  cost  us,  and  lost  us,  mastery 
of  ourselves,  and  the  dominion  over  nature.  It 
brought  us  suffering  and  death.  It  cut  us  off 
from  God.     It  makes  us  slaves  of  Satan. 


We  have  only  zvhat  we  take. 

Jesus  came  to  get  us  out  of  our  awful  plight. 
He  came  to  the  earth  because  we  were  here, 
and  it  was  our  home,  our  lost  heritage.  He 
lived  His  Hfe  of  perfect  obedience  on  the  earth, 
because  the  earth  had  been  lost  to  us  through 
our  disobedience.  He  would  win  it  back 
through  obedience,  but  He  would  win  it  back 
for  us.  All  through  He  was  acting  in  our  place, 
as    our    substitute   and   representative. 

But  again  be  it  said  that  He  cannot  do  for  us 
what  we  do  not  want.  That  is,  He  can't  make 
us  accept  what  He  has  done  for  us,  unless  we 
choose  to.  No  one  can  make  a  choice  for  an- 
other nor  act  in  the  stead  of  another,  but  by  the 
other's  consent. 

He  defeated  our  enemy.  He  won  back  our 
lost  dominion  of  the  earth.  He  has  won  for  us 
freedom  from  all  the  power  of  Satan,  the 
power  we  gave  him  through  our  sin.  But  the 
results  of  His  great  victory  become  ours  only 


His  Present  Struggle  85 

as  we  accept  and  appropriate  them  as  our 
own. 

Each  man  of  us  may  have  His  victory  as  our 
very  own.  But  it  does  not  become  our  very 
own  until  we  accept  it  so.  And  so  Satan,  who 
left  Jesus  when  he  must,  will  not  leave  us  till 
he  must ;  and  then,  as  with  Jesus,  "  only  for  a 
season."  ^  Our  sin  gives  Satan  a  grip  upon  us. 
He  insists  on  that  grip. 

And  Satan  has  a  right  to  us  for  we  have 
given  ourselves  to  him  by  obeying  him.  For 
sin  is  obeying  Satan.  So  we  become  his  slaves, 
and  he  our  master.  He  can  hold  that  grip  upon 
us  until  a  stronger  than  he  comes  along  to  worst 
him.  That  stronger  One  has  come — our  blessed 
Lord  Jesus.  But  we  must  accept  His  victory 
as  our  very  own,  and  give  Satan  notice  of 
our  decision.  He  must  leave  when  he  is 
ordered  off  in  the  Name  he  fears.  And  he 
will  leave. 

But  he  never  leaves  until  he  must.  And  so 
there  is  a  present  struggle,  even  after  an  abso- 
lute defeat,  because  so  many  men  have  not  ac- 
cepted as  their  own  what  our  Lord  Jesus  has 
done  for  them. 

Satan  must  be  doubly  defeated.     First  by  one 

stronger  than  he.     That  has  been  done  by  Him 

whose     very     Name — Jesus — tells     of     victory. 

Then  he  must  be  defeated  by  each  one  of  us, 

*Luke  iv.  13. 


86       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

on  the  battlefield  of  our  own  wills,  by  our  choos- 
ing Jesus  as  our  own  representative,  as  our  own 
Substitute-Victor. 

In  His  Name  and  strength  we  can  administer 
that  second  defeat.  In  no  other  way  can  it  be 
done.  And  in  His  Name  we  must.  As  men, 
as  rightful  under-masters  of  this  earth,  as  right- 
ful children  of  our  Father,  who  made  us  in  His 
own  image,  we  must  defeat  the  evil  one  in  the 
Name  of  Jesus,  by  choosing  Him  as  our  Saviour 
and  Lord. 

The  struggle  with  our  Lord  was  for  the  mas- 
tery of  the  earth,  and  the  whole  race.  In  that 
Satan  has  been  defeated.  The  present  strug- 
gle is  for  the  mastery  and  control  of  each  man's 
life.  Our  Lord  won  the  victory  over  our  ene- 
my; now  He  would  win  His  way  into  each 
man's  heart  and  life. 

Satan  has  been  defeated  on  the  earth,  and 
on  behalf  of  the  whole  race;  now  he  must  be 
defeated  on  the  battlefield  of  each  man's  life. 
The  first  struggle  was  settled  decisively  by  our 
Lord.  The  second  can  be  settled  only  by  each 
one  of  us,  in  the  power  of  our  Lord's  victory 
for  us. 


The  Real  Struggle. 

Then   there  is   a  second  practical  answer  to 
that  question  of  why  Satan  has  power  to  con- 


His  Present  Struggle  87 

tinue  his  struggle,  and  it  is  rather  a  startling 
one.  The  man  who  accepts  our  Lord  Jesus' 
victory  as  his  own,  must  choose  to  let  the  Jesus- 
spirit  control  his  life. 

If  there  be  some  part  of  my  life  uncontrolled 
by  that  Spirit,  that  uncontrolled  part  is  held 
by  Satan.  Any  bit  of  selfishness  allowed  to  re- 
main becomes  Satan's  footing  in  my  life.  He 
holds  that  bit  of  ground  stubbornly.  And  he 
can  hold  it,  for  I  yield  it  to  him  in  letting  the 
selfishness  or  the  wrong  spirit  remain.  On  that 
ground  he  stands  and  struggles  for  more,  so 
there  is  a  present  struggle  because  I  let  him 
have  part  control  within. 

If  my  Master  has  asked  me  to  sell  a  bit  of 
property,  whose  income  I  don't  really  need,  and 
to  send  the  money  out  through  my  church  chan- 
nels, that  men  in  China  may  learn  of  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Lord  Jesus — if  so,  and  I  simply 
don't,  that  disobedience,  that  bit  of  self-will,  that 
bit  of  Satan-spirit,  gives  the  evil  one  a  fresh 
hold  upon  my  life. 

In  that  I  neutralize  the  victory  of  Jesus.  I 
am  helping  Satan  in  his  present  struggle.  In 
so  far  as  your  life  and  mine  are  not  swayed 
and  swept  by  that  Jesus-spirit  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  in  just  that  far  we  are  strengthening 
Satan  in  his  present  struggle. 

I  will  not  stop  to  make  a  survey  of  the  Chris- 
tian world,  and  attempt  to  gather  up  into  words, 


88       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

how  much  help  of  that  sort  the  cunning  enemy 
is  getting  to-day  from  those  who  profess  to 
belong  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  results  would  be 
startling,  and  would  without  doubt  seem  critical, 
and  in  a  bad  way,  even  though  merely  a  colour- 
less statement  of  facts. 

Each  of  us  would  better  go  off  alone,  and 
look  within,  with  that  "  search  me  "  prayer,  and 
with  a  willingness  to  look  honestly  at  what  that 
searching  eye  of  God  reveals  within. 

There  is  still  another  bit  to  be  put  in  here. 
It  is  this;  our  ignorance  of  Satan  and  his  wily 
ways  of  working  is  helping  him  greatly  in  his 
present  struggle.  Knowledge  is  power.  Igno- 
rance is  weakness.  Our  ignorance  of  Satan 
adds  to  his  power  immensely. 

Satan  is  being  strengthened  in  his  present 
struggle  because  of  the  very  common  wide- 
spread ignorance  of  him.  He  works  freely 
among  us,  and  even — starthng  though  it  sounds 
— he  works  through  us,  yes  w^e  Christians,  be- 
cause we  have  not  learned  to  recognize  his  pres- 
ence, and  so  do  not  aggressively  resist  him  in 
the  Victor's  Name. 

We  should  remember  that  one  of  Satan's 
peculiar  weaknesses  is  this — he  is  dependent 
very  largely  upon  our  human  co-operation.  Per- 
haps he  is  wholly  dependent  upon  us  men.  His 
very  first  attempt  in  Eden  was  to  get  the  con- 
trol of  a  human  being,  and  once  in  control  -he 


His  Present  Struggle  89 

used  that  one  to  get  another,  and  so  on  end- 
lessly ever  since. 

If  we  men  were  to  throw  off  his  allegiance  at 
once  in  the  power  of  the  Victor,  Satan  would 
not  only  be  terribly  weakened,  but  far  more,  he 
would  be  driven  out  of  his  present  sphere  of 
activity.  He  is  dependent  upon  us  in  his  pres- 
ent struggle.  And  right  well  he  knows  it.  What 
a  soul-winner  he  is!  With  what  persistence 
and  tenacity  he  keeps  after  a  man  who  is  trying 
to  get  away  from  him ! 


The  Battlefield. 

This  leads  up  naturally  to  the  sphere  of  Sa- 
tan's activity.  Where  is  this  great  struggle 
going  on?  Will  you  note  that  there  are  five 
places  of  residence  or  head-quarters  of  activity 
assigned  to  Satan  in  God's  Word?  First  of 
all  he  was  in  the  presence  of  God."  After  his 
fall,  he  was  cast  out  of  that  presence;  his  head- 
quarters were  moved  to  some  place  below  the 
throne  of  God,  and  above  the  earth,  as  the  chief 
sphere  of  his  activity  and  ambition.''  That  is 
his  present  scene  of  action,  and  will  be  until 
the  close  of  the  present  order  of  things. 

After  a  while  he  is  to  be  cast  down  to  the 

*Ezekiel  xxviii.  13-17. 

^Ezekiel  xxviii.  16;  Luke  x.  18;  Ephesians  ii.  2;  vi.  12. 


90       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

earth.*  Then  follows  the  time  when  he  shall 
be  cast  into  a  place  called  the  ''  abyss "  or 
**  pit  " ;  *  and  afterwards  he  is  to  be  consigned 
to  what  is  called  "  the  lake  of  fire."  *  Our  prac- 
tical concern  just  now  is  wholly  with  his  pres- 
ent head-quarters  and  sphere  of  activity. 

His  head-quarters  is  somewhere  above  the 
earth ;  the  sphere  of  his  activity  is  the  earth  and 
the  atmosphere  that  envelops  it.  His  titles 
**  prince  of  this  world,"  *  '*  prince  of  the  powers 
of  the  air,"  °  "  the  god  of  this  world  "  "  indicate 
that.  The  two  great  temptations  in  which  he 
himself  was  chief  actor  were  on  the  earth,  in 
Eden,  and  in  the  Wilderness. 

In  the  attack  upon  Job,  two  of  the  disasters 
that  came  were  war — an  evil  spirit  aroused 
among  men — and  two  of  them  were  wild  storms 
in  the  atmosphere  that  surrounds  the  earth. 

In  the  remarkable  story  of  Daniel,  tenth  chap- 
ter, the  opposition  to  Daniel's  prayer  was  by 
some  evil  spirit-being,  who  intercepts  God's  mes- 
senger on  his  way  from  God's  presence  down 
to  where  Daniel  was  on  the  earth.  While  the 
old  man  was  praying  on  his  knees  in  the  woods 

^Revelation  xii.  7-9. 

^  Revelation  xx.  2,  3. 

'Revelation  xx,  10. 

*John  xii.  31;  xiv.  30;  xvi.  II. 

''Ephesians  ii.  2. 

•2  Corinthians  iv.  4. 


His  Present  Struggle  91 

down  by  the  river  Tigris,  two  spirit  messengers, 
one  from  God,  the  other  opposing  God's  mes- 
senger, and  so  from  the  enemy's  camp,  were 
wrestling  up  in  the  spirit  realm  above  the  earth. 
But  the  wrestling  was  regarding  something 
down  on  the  earth. 

The  very  striking  passage  in  Mark's  Gospel  * 
makes  yet  clearer  the  sphere  of  activity.  A 
great  storm  had  arisen  while  our  Lord  slept  on 
a  pillow  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  boat.  It 
must  have  been  an  unusually  fierce  storm  to 
have  so  thoroughly  frightened  these  old  sailors. 
In  distress  and  alarm  they  awaken  Jesus  and 
ask  for  His  help.  Notice  both  His  action,  and 
His  words.  The  usual  reading  is  He  ''  rebuked 
the  wind,  and  said  unto  the  sea,  Peace  be  still." 
The  more  literal  reading  is  immensely  sug- 
gestive and  helpful.  *'  He  said  to  the  sea.  Lie 
down,  be  muzzled."  It  is  the  sort  of  language 
one  uses  in  speaking  to  a  dog  that  is  misbe- 
having. If  the  word  be  repeated  in  the  sharp 
peremptory  tone  of  command,  in  which  one 
speaks  to  his  dog,  it  makes  the  sense  yet  more 
intense  and  real ; — "  down  sir !  lie  down !  " 

The  whole  passage  is  significant.  It  is  not 
the  sort  of  language  to  be  used  in  talking  merely 
to  wind  and  wave,  especially  by  as  even-poised 
a  man  as  our  Lord  was.  There  is  at  once  the 
recognition  of  an  evil  spirit,  or  a  group  of 
^  Mark  iv.  35-41. 


92       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

them,   who  had   aroused   the   unusually  violent 
storm. 

The  very  language  used  is  a  recognition  of 
personality.  There  was  some  one  at  work 
through  wind  and  water.  He  is  ordered  down. 
He  obeys.  There  was  a  great  calm.  But  the 
point  to  mark  just  now  is  that  his  sphere  of 
action  includes  wind  and  water  as  well  as  the 
earth.  Mark  keenly  why  this  is  the  sphere  of 
his  activity — because  we  are  here.  It  is  us 
he  is  after,  and  through  us  the  dominion  of  this 
realm. 


Proper  Air  Supply, 

You  and  I  are  living  on  the  battlefield.  We 
are  in  the  thick  of  the  engagement  now  on.  We 
must  take  sides.  And  the  side  we  take  affects 
the  result  of  the  struggle,  because  that  struggle 
is  through  us. 

You  know  how  a  diver  working  down  at  the 
bottom  of  a  river  or  of  the  sea,  must  take  his 
own  atmosphere  along  with  him.  He  is  work- 
ing in  a  strange  element — water.  He  must 
have  his  own  native  element — air — to  live  in  and 
he  must  have  a  constantly  fresh  supply  of  it, 
too. 

The  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  has  been 
tampering  with  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
earth;  he  has  poisoned  it.     An  atmosphere  of 


His  Present  Struggle  93 

doubt,  of  compromise,  of  disloyalty  to  God  sur- 
rounds us.  We  have  to  stay  here  and  fight,  and 
it  is  hard  work  fighting  in  such  air.  Indeed 
it  is  impossible.  We  must  live  in  an  inner  air- 
chamber,  filled  with  the  sort  of  air  which  is  na- 
tive to  us.  And  that  inner  air-chamber  must 
have  continual  connection  with  the  pure  air  of 
God  above. 

Shall  I  give  you  a  formula  for  the  sort  of 
atmosphere  for  the  inner  air-chamber  of  our 
lives?  It  is  a  simple  formula  with  five  items 
in  it.  No  one  item  can  be  omitted.  First  is 
this,  "  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin." 
Second,  is  this — the  whole  of  one's  life  and  ac- 
tivities yielded  to  the  control  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Third,  this — habitual  obedience  to  His  Voice. 
Fourth,  this — daily  quiet  time  with  the  Book 
that  the  ear  may  be  keen  to  know  what  He  is 
saying,  and  the  mind  instructed  in  His  will. 
And  fifth — recognition  of  the  enemy,  and  ear- 
nest aggressive  resistance  in  Jesus'  great  Name. 


PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS 

Watch  as  well  as  pray. 

One  of  the  settled  maxims  of  military  wis- 
dom is  this — "  study  the  enemy."  Millions  are 
spent  annually  by  the  governments  of  Europe 
and  America,  and,  lately,  of  the  Eastern  world, 
in  just  this  thing.  Yet  they  go  just  a  step 
farther,  for  they  spend  the  money  studying  the 
military  strength  and  tactics  of  nations  that  are 
now  friendly,  but  that  may  become  enemies. 
The  general  who  would  enter  upon  a  conflict, 
without  doing  his  utmost  to  learn  everything 
possible  to  be  learned  about  the  enemy  he  must 
meet,  would  be  regarded  as  greatly  lacking  in 
wisdom,  if  indeed  he  were  not  plainly  called  a 
fool. 

Our  enemy  is  not  a  possible  enemy,  but  a  real 
one.  The  war  is  actually  on.  And  plainly  God 
meant  us  to  know  about  the  enemy,  for  He 
has  given  us  so  much  clear  information  about 
him  and  his  forces,  in  His  Word.  Our  Lord 
Jesus  said,  "  watch  and  pray  that  ye  enter  not 
into  temptation."  ^ 

The  temptation  is  here.  It  reveals  the  tempter 
*  Matthew  xxvi.  41. 
94 


Personal  Characteristics  95 

in  ambush.  "  Pray  "  is  not  enough.  "  Watch  " 
is  not  enough.  The  two  must  be  coupled.  The 
eyes  must  be  joined  with  the  knees.  And  keen- 
trained,  practised  eyes  they  must  be  too.  The 
'*  watch  "  is  for  the  enemy,  the  ''  pray  "  for  God. 
We  must  look  out  as  well  as  look  up.  There 
has  not  been  too  much  praying,  but  there  has 
been  far  too  little  watching.  While  some  of  us 
have  been  devotedly  absorbed  in  kneeling,  the 
enemy  has  slipped  in,  and  toppled  us  over. 

We  must  learn  to  pray  with  our  eyes  open, 
and  our  ears  alert,  for  our  cunning  enemy  is 
lurking  around.  Praying  that  is  not  accom- 
panied by  watching  is  weakened.  The  knees 
need  the  eyes.  The  eyes  watching  the  enemy 
will  make  the  knees  stronger  in  their  work. 
Watching  will  reveal  our  danger,  and  make  us 
realize  more  keenly  the  need  of  prayer,  and  of 
claiming  our  Lord's  victory. 

More  watching  would  make  more  praying. 
We  would  feel  more  keenly  the  danger,  and 
our  own  helplessness.  Keener  watching — eyes 
trained  to  see  in  the  dark,  would  make  keener, 
steadier  praying.  For  we  would  realize  more, 
how  great  the  prayer  is  that  can  affect  and  up- 
set such  an  enemy  as  our  watching  brings  into 
the  light. 

Our  watching  is  hard  on  the  enemy;  he  must 
fight  harder.  And  our  praying  becomes  more 
simple  and  definite,  steadier  and  more  quietly 


96      Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

tense.  And  watching  makes  easier  praying;  it 
reveals  to  us  our  utter  helplessness  in  ourselves 
alone,  and  then  we  throw  ourselves  on  our  Vic- 
tor, and  rest  our  case  there.  We  can  do  noth- 
ing else  before  such  a  foe.  And  as  we  lean 
wholly  upon  our  Defender,  we  learn  to  rest 
upon  Him  in  our  sorest  straits.  And  that  help- 
less resting  upon  His  makes  the  results  quicker 
and  surer.  Faith  rests  because  of  its  very 
helplessness. 


So7ne  important  "  Nots.' 


Now  that  we  may  get  our  eyes  trained  for 
keener  watching  I  want  to  talk  with  you  a  bit 
further  about  the  personal  characteristics  of 
this  tempter-enemy  of  ours.  We  want  to  know 
more  about  him  so  as  to  recognize  and  resist 
him  better. 

He  is  a  being  of  great  personal  beauty,  and 
with  that  goes  the  thought  of  great  attractive- 
ness. Yet  it  must  be  noted  keenly  that  it  is  a 
spoiled  beauty.  Nothing  mars  like  selfishness. 
The  more  beautiful  face  may  become  the  most 
ugly.  Sin  makes  ugly.  Satan's  beauty  has  been 
sadly  spoiled,  until  now  it  is  the  false  beauty 
of  powder  and  paint,  of  gaudy  dressing  and 
flashy  colours.  He  comes  in  a  guise  of  beauty 
and  attractiveness.  He  has  enormous  power, 
and    real    great    dignity.      We    are    told    that 


Personal  Characteristics  97 

Michael  in  dealing  with  him  on  one  occasion 
spoke  respectfully,  as  to  one  in  a  position  of 
dignity  and  glory/ 

He  is  at  the  head  of  a  vast  compact  organi- 
zation of  spirit-beings.  Paul's  description  of 
this  organization  reveals  how  thoroughly  disci- 
plined and  organized  are  the  forces  at  his  dis- 
posal.^ And  however  the  spirit  of  lawlessness 
and  disregard  for  authority  may  permeate  all 
his  ranks,  there  yet  is  a  dominant  organization 
maintained  and  recognized,  for  so  their  pur- 
poses can  better  be  achieved. 

Paul  says  our  fighting  is  "  against  the  princi- 
palities, against  the  powers,  against  the  world- 
rulers  of  this  darkness,  against  the  hosts  of 
wicked  spirits  in  the  heavenlies."  The  words 
of  highly  endowed  beings.  Satan's  personal 
character  is  revealed  in  such  a  compact  organiza- 
tion, the  creation  of  his  skill,  and  being  wielded 
by  him. 

But,  over  against  that  there  are  certain  words 
to  be  put  down  in  blackest  ink.  They  tell  at 
once  of  his  limitations.  He  is  not  omnipotent, 
though  the  power  he  wields  is  greater  than  any 
of  us  realize.  He  is  not  omnipresent,  though 
the  superb  organization  at  his  command  has 
sometimes  seemed  to  suggest  something  of  the 
sort.  He  has  no  fore-knowledge,  though  he  is 
a  very  shrewd  guesser.  And  he  is  not  om- 
*Jude  9.  "Ephesians  vi.  12. 


98       Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

niscient,  or  knowing  all  things,  though  he  has 
gathered  great  knowledge  through  the  centuries. 
These  traits  belong  to  God  only. 

Indeed,  in  contrast  with  these,  it  should  be 
said  again  that  he  is  wholly  dependent  upon  the 
co-operation  of  men  so  far  as  our  lives  and 
the  earth  is  concerned.  This  is  a  bit  of  his  in- 
herent weakness. 

And,  further,  a  vast  deal  of  the  power  he  does 
have  among  us  men,  he  has  wholly,  either 
through  our  foolish  ignorance  and  ignoring  of 
him  or  through  our  active  (though  I  think 
largely  unconscious)  co-operation  with  him  by 
the  selfishness  and  sinfulness  and  compromise 
in  our  lives. 


His  Mental  Status. 


He  is  credited  with  having  great  intellectual 
keenness  and  force.  He  is  thought  of  as  a 
giant  of  intellectual  power.  And  there  must 
be  much  truth  in  such  a  supposition.  The  story 
of  his  creation,  his  close  fellowship  with  God  in 
his  early  history,  and  the  work  entrusted  to  him 
would  all  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  his  mental 
acumen  and  resourcefulness  must  be  very  great. 
This  should  be  carefully  noted. 

Yet  there  is  a  bit  of  vast  import  on  the  other 
side  of  this  fact.  There  is  very  much  to  lead 
us  to  believe  that  his  mentality  is  distinctly  of 


Personal  Characteristics  99 

a  secondary-grade.  His  is  not  a  first-grade  men- 
tality. This  should  be  noted,  for  it  has  great 
bearing  upon  our  dealings  with  him. 

Note,  please,  that  he  has  great  cunning  and 
craftiness.  His  keenness  is  so  great  as  to  make 
one  feel  uncanny.  He  has  a  peculiar  quality  of 
persistence,  and  enormous  driving  power.  In- 
deed these  are  his  dominant  traits  mentally. 
Yet  note  that  animals  have  great  cunning  and 
craftiness  and  keenness  and  persistence  and 
energy.  These  do  not  indicate  a  first-grade 
mentality.  Yet  they  are  Satan's  dominant 
traits. 

Certainly  he  is  not  wise.  That  quality  could 
not  be  ascribed  to  him,  and  it  is  a  peculiar  thing 
to  mark  that  he  constantly  reveals  a  defective 
judgment.  He  constantly  overreaches  himself, 
and  defeats  his  own  purposes  in  dealing  with  us. 
This  suggests  that  he  is  more  of  a  shrewd 
guesser,  with  long  experience  back  of  his  guess- 
ing, than  anything  else.  A  vast  lot  of  what 
might  be  thought  of  as  keen  thinking,  and  as 
indicating  wide  knowledge  or  fore-knowledge,  is 
simply  very  shrewd,  crafty  guessing. 

Note  that  his  dominant  mental  trait  is  imita- 
tion. He  has  been  called  "the  ape  of  God." 
Read  through  Saint  John's  Revelation,  and  note 
how  in  everything  he  does  there  he  is  simply 
imitating  God.  There  is  a  trinity  of  evil.  One 
of  his  chief  agents  appears  as  a  lamb.     Step 


100     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

by  step,  every  plan  of  his  seems  to  have  been 
patterned  on  something  of  God's. 

Now  it  is  true  of  course  that  imitation  is  the 
most  dominant  law  of  all  life.  It  is  one  of  the 
commonest  laws  governing  all  action,  from 
childhood  on.  Originality  does  not  mean  an 
absence  of  imitation.  It  means  unusual  wis- 
dom and  judgment  and  insight  in  the  selection, 
and  combination  into  one's  own  action,  of  what 
is  found  in  others.  The  basis  is  still  imita- 
tion. The  new  thing  called  originality  is  the 
rare  judgment  in  choosing  what  to  imitate, 
and  how  to  combine  what  is  chosen.  Yet 
mark  that  this  great  traitor-prince  imitates 
slavishly  what  God  has  done.  There  is  no 
trace  of  originality.  His  mental  powers  are 
second-class. 

This  is  not  so  surprising  as  it  may  seem  at 
first  flush.  He  has  cut  himself  off  from  God, 
the  source  of  all  life  and  wisdom.  All  life, 
physical  and  mental  and  of  the  spirit,  is  in 
God,  and  from  Him.  Satan  has  existence,  but 
in  breaking  away  from  God  he  broke  away  from 
the  source  of  wisdom,  and  of  strong  mental 
power. 

The  Immense  Power  of  Experience. 

Yet — yet,  let  it  be  very  plainly  underscored 
that  he  is  far  more  than  a  match  for  you  and 


Personal  Characteristics  loi 

me.  That  will  be  a  bit  humiliating  to  us,  but 
it  is  as  true  as  it  is  humiliating. 

Will  you  please  notice  why  we  are  no  match 
for  him  here?  First  of  all,  because  of  his  long 
experience.  Will  you  mark  that  experience 
counts  for  more  in  the  practical  action  of  life 
than  anything  else.  For  instance,  a  man  with  a 
second-grade  mind,  or  third-grade,  but  with  a 
long  matured  experience,  will  completely  out- 
class the  man  of  first-rate  mental  powers  who 
has  no  experience.  Neither  unusual  matured 
talent  nor  unusual  advantages  of  University 
schooling,  unaccompanied  by  experience,  can 
hold  its  own  for  a  moment  in  the  action  of  life 
against  matured  experience  wisely  applied. 

Experience  outclasses  every  other  sort  of 
qualification,  standing  alone  without  the  expe- 
rience. When  you  have  been  actually  through 
a  difficult  situation  you  have  a  grip  and  confi- 
dence for  a  similar  situation  that  can  be  gotten 
in  no  other  way.  You  are  afraid  of  a  strange 
thing.  Ignorance  breeds  fear.  You  have  con- 
fidence about  the  thing  you  have  done  a  thou- 
sand or  a  hundred  times.  Experience  brings 
boldness.     It  knows. 

Satan  has  a  very  long  experience.  It  has 
been  maturing  for  thousands  of  years.  He 
knows  us  men  like  we  know  the  thing  we  know 
best.  And  in  comparison  with  him  in  the  mat- 
ter of  experience  we  men  are  the  merest  babes. 


102     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

just  drawing  our  first  gasping  breath.  He  has 
been  at  this  thing  for  millenniums;  we  are  just 
starting  in.  We  are  no  match  for  this  tempter, 
even  though  his  mentality  is  second-rate. 

And  then  there  is  a  second  reason  why  we  are 
no  match  for  him  here.  It  is  a  humiliating  rea- 
son too,  but  again  as  true  as  it  is  humiliating. 
It  is  this:  our  mentality  is  not  first-class  either, 
except  as  the  Spirit  of  God  sways  our  mental 
powers.  The  keenest,  wisest  brain  is  not  first- 
class  except  as  it  lives  in  its  own  atmosphere, 
that  is  the  breath  of  God.  And  as  a  matter  of 
fact  we,  too,  have  cut  ourselves  off  from  our 
true  atmosphere  by  sin.  And  even  where  we 
have  come  back  into  our  native  air,  through  the 
redeeming  work  of  our  Saviour  and  Lord,  in 
so  far  as  He  is  not  allowed  to  dominate  our 
mental  powers  we  fall  to  second  place.  We  have 
not  the  mental  powers  with  which  we  were  en- 
dowed. Now  I  think  we  would  agree  to  the 
sad  fact  that  compromise  with  evil  and  selfish- 
ness have  become  a  law  among  those  of  us 
classed  as  Christian  people.  By  common  con- 
sent the  Church  of  Christ  is  not  swayed  in  the 
life  of  its  members  by  that  Jesus- Spirit  of  which 
we  talked  a  while  ago. 


Personal  Characteristics  103 

Unsurrendered  Mental  Powers. 

Then  there  is  even  more  to  be  said.  There 
are  a  great  many  earnest,  godly  people,  who  are 
wholly  surrendered  in  spirit  and  purpose  to 
the  Lord  Jesus,  but  whose  mental  powers  are 
not  surrendered.  These  lie  fallow.  It  almost 
seems  sometimes  as  though  mental  stupidity,  the 
blind  unthinking  following  of  religious  leaders, 
is  looked  upon  as  a  sign  of  unusual  grace,  in- 
stead of  unusual  stupidity. 

When  the  Holy  Spirit  is  allowed  possession 
there  follows  a  second  mental  birth,  as  well  as 
a  new  spiritual  birth.  There  is  a  new  activity, 
a  new  mental  life,  a  new  keenness  and  strength 
of  mental  action.  It  is  the  Spirit's  mode  of  ac- 
tion. And  in  so  far  as  it  is  not  our  experience, 
the  lack  tells  how  far  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not 
in  control.  It  tells  how  far  we  have  not  sur- 
rendered our  powers  to  His  sweet  life-giving 
sway.  This  is  a  second  reason  why  we  are  no 
match  for  our  spirit-foe  who  is  ever  close  upon 
our  heels.  Full  victory  comes  through  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  and  through  our  mental  powers  be- 
ing actively  swayed  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

There  are  a  few  other  traits  that  should  be 
noted.  Satan  is  a  liar.  His  word  cannot  be 
trusted.  He  has  rare  skill  in  blending.  He  can 
mix  truth  and  lie,  fact  and  falsehood,  so  skil- 
fully and  cunningly  that  even  the  elect  are  de- 


104     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

ceived.  Only  the  constant  knee-test  can  detect 
some  of  his  damnable  blending;  only  eyes 
habitually  steeped  in  the  light  of  the  Word  can 
see  the  subtle  tinging  of  false  colours  in  his 
fabrics. 

All  sorts  of  lies  come  from  him,  big  lies  and 
small;  white  lies  and  black — the  mean  dirty- 
white,  gray-smoky-white  kind  seem  to  be  a  fa- 
vourite. Social  lies,  business  lies,  personal  lies, 
Church  lies,  religious  lies ;  lies  that  are  lived  and 
acted ;  lies  in  the  garments  worn ; — all  sorts 
come  from  him.  He  is  fond  of  disguises,  and  is 
skilled  in  the  use  of  them.    He  hates  the  truth. 


A  Cowardly  Weapon. 

Then  he  is  fond  of  using  force.  Violence 
is  peculiarly  his  weapon,  from  the  stage  of  sim- 
ply threatening  to  use  it,  on  through  its  active 
use  both  in  personal  and  in  large  mass  move- 
ments. If  one  man  kills  another,  it  is  commonly 
called  murder.  If  a  big  organized  crowd  of 
men  do  the  same  thing  in  a  more  or  less  skilled 
way,  it  is  called  war. 

I  am  not  discussing  either  the  question  of 
armies  or  of  warfare.  That's  a  separate  ques- 
tion, with  many  facts  to  be  noted  on  both  sides 
before  a  fair  conclusion  can  be  reached.  Many 
of  the  great  armies  are  simply  huge  policing  or- 
ganizations  keeping  order  on  the  street  where 


Personal  Characteristics  105 

the  national  crowds  pass  by,  and  jostle  each 
other  in  passing. 

But  violence,  force,  mere  brute  force  is  one 
of  Satan's  favourite  modes  of  action,  and  re- 
veals his  character.  Settling  differences  by  re- 
sort to  mere  animal  strength  is  of  course  put- 
ting the  whole  affair  on  the  very  lowest  basis. 
Mere  might  is  made  the  standard  of  right, 
though  it  almost  always  means  putting  the 
wrong  up  as  the  right,  or  in  place  of  it.  All  use 
of  this  lowest  means  of  attaining  one's  own 
ends,  whether  among  individuals  or  with  crowds 
of  men,  is  from  this  great  usurper-prince. 

Its  commonness  in  social  life,  using  one's  so- 
cial advantage  to  crowd  down,  or  crush  another; 
in  business  life,  where  it  is  so  universally  prac- 
tised, using  whatever  advantage  may  come  into 
one's  hands  to  crush  a  rival  or  compel  him  to 
come  to  your  terms;  in  political,  and  even  in 
Church  circles,  reveal  how  wide-spread  is  the 
subtle  influence  of  this  great  spirit-foe  of  ours. 
It  reveals,  too,  his  personal  characteristics. 
There  is  nothing  more  contemptibly  cowardly 
than  the  use  of  mere  force  to  attain  one's  ends. 

This  leads  directly  to  another  trait  that  should 
be  very  sharply  marked — Satan  is  a  coward.  He 
is  a  mean,  contemptible  coward.  He  is  fond  of 
bluster  and  brag.  He  will  come  with  his  sug- 
gestion of  doubt  to  some  dear  old  saint  of  God, 
lying  in  a  bed  of  illness,  weak  in  body  and  tired 


io6     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

in  mind,  and  will  worry  and  tease  and  torment 
her  until  she  is  almost  in  despair.  Ugh!  he  is 
a  contemptible  coward.  He  prefers  to  attack 
somebody  weaker  than  himself. 

He  is  afraid  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  He  has  no 
courage  for  a  stand-up,  square  fair  fight  with 
an  equal.  Under  such  circumstances  he  will  slink 
off.  He  is  afraid  of  us,  too,  when  we  cling  so 
close  to  Jesus  that  we  two  are  as  one.  Resist 
him,  and  he  will  sneak  off,  and  hunt  for  some 
one  off  his  guard.  Now  it  is  good  to  remember 
this  trait  of  cowardice.  Cling  close  to  our 
blessed  Master;  never  get  out  of  His  presence; 
resist  this  great  coward  in  the  great  Name,  and 
you  are  safe. 

But  with  that  put  in  this — he  is  persistent. 
He  has  bull-dog  tenacity.  He  knows  how  to 
hang  on.  There  is  just  one  thing  that  will 
out-do  his  persistence,  and  that  is  our  insistence 
in  our  Lord  Jesus'  Name.  He  can't  stand  that. 
When  he  hangs  on  you  hang  on  just  a  bit  longer. 
He  is  defeated,  and  he  knows  it.  Our  Lord  is 
Victor,  and  we  know  that.  The  tempter's  per- 
sistence is  bluster.  Steady  insistence,  steady 
claiming  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus'  Name, 
insistence,  steady  insistence — he  can't  stand 
that. 


Personal  Characteristics  107 

At  His  Strongest — Weak. 

A  friend  told  me  of  her  nephew,  who  was 
under  her  care  for  a  time  while  his  parents  were 
in  India.  The  family  devotional  reading  was  in 
the  Book  of  Revelation.  There  had  been  some 
hesitation  about  taking  up  that  book,  when  it 
came  in  regular  order,  lest  the  children  might 
not  understand.  But  with  the  aunt's  insistence 
that  the  children  could  get  more  than  one  might 
think,  it  was  decided  to  take  it  up.  One  day  the 
little  fellow  abruptly  said,  "  Satan  will  have  two 
big  punishments,  won't  he  ? "  His  aunt  was 
surprised,  and  sought  to  draw  out  his  thoughts. 
"  He  will  be  put  into  the  pit  and  then  into  the 
lake  of  fire,"  the  child  said.  Evidently  he  had 
taken  in  much  more  of  the  family  reading  than 
they  had  supposed.  So  his  aunt  tried  to  in- 
struct him  further.  How  well  she  succeeded 
is  suggested  by  the  little  man's  remark  one  night 
as  he  was  going  to  bed.  As  though  talking  half 
to  himself  he  said,  "  Satan  is  very  strong,  we 
can't  do  anything  against  him,"  in  a  tone  that 
suggested  an  element  of  fear  in  his  mind.  Then 
his  face  brightened,  and  his  tone  of  voice  com- 
pletely changed,  as  he  said,  ''  but  with  Jesus, 
we  are  a  hundred  times  stronger."  Then  as  he 
was  being  tucked  in  he  said,  "  Oh,  I  should  say, 
with  Jesus  we  are  a  thousand  times  stronger." 

That  was  wholesome  reading  and  instruction 


io8     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

for  that  child.  The  two  definite  impressions  of 
the  greatness  of  the  foe,  and  of  the  greater 
power  of  our  Lord,  and  that  that  power  was 
ours,  will  be  of  great  value  to  him  as  he  grows 
in  his  Christian  life.  We  should  couple  our 
Master  with  ourselves  as  the  boy  did,  "  with 
Jesus  we  are  a  thousand  times  stronger  " — ^and 
more!  Let's  remember  that.  It  will  put  new 
life  into  our  insistence,  and  it  will  put  our  en- 
emy to  flight. 

Satan  tries  to  imitate  the  beauty  and  personal 
attractiveness  which  were  his  but  have  been 
spoiled  by  his  sin.  He  has  great  power,  he  is 
a  subtle  organizer,  and  has  a  splendidly  com- 
pacted organization  of  spirit-beings  at  his  nod 
and  beck.  His  mentality  is  distinctly  of  sec- 
ondary grade,  but  his  experience  with  us  men 
is  so  long  and  matured  and  intimate  that  he  has 
enormous  advantage. 

He  has  a  devilish  knack  of  tenacity,  of  per- 
sistence. He  loves  deceit  and  is  peculiarly  skil- 
ful in  using  it.  Rugged  honesty  is  one  of  the 
sure  checkmates  for  shutting  him  up  in  a  corner. 
He  uses  force  and  delights  in  its  use.  And  he 
is  a  contemptible  coward. 

This  reveals  much  of  his  supposed  strength, 
much  of  his  real  strength,  and  reveals  too,  how 
much  less  is  he  than  our  wondrous  Victor,  the 
Lord  Jesus.  "  Greater  is  He,"  so  much  greater 
that  you  can't  put  into  words  how  much  greater. 


Personal  Characteristics  109 

But  you  can  know  how  much  when  the  thick  of 
the  fight  is  on. 

The  intelHgent  surrender  of  all  our  powers 
and  activities  to  the  Mastery  of  our  Lord,  the 
thoughtful  cultivation  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  pres- 
ence and  practical  sovereignty,  the  daily  quiet 
time  alone  with  God's  Word,  the  spirit  of  hum- 
ble dependence  upon  our  Lord — these  will  bring 
to  us  a  simple,  sane  sense  in  recognizing  the 
enemy,  regardless  of  disguises,  and  will  make 
us  strong  in  resisting  and  overcoming  him  at 
every  turn  of  the  road. 


III.— TYPICAL  TEMPTATIONS 


EDEN:  HOW  THE  TEMPTER 
WORKS 

Three  Attacks. 


There  have  been  three  great  attacks  made 
upon  man  by  the  tempter,  three  great  attempts 
to  tempt  him  away  from  God's  path — in  Eden, 
in  the  Wilderness,  and  at  Calvary.  The  pur- 
pose each  time  was  the  same — it  was  to  swerve 
man  from  God's  path  and  God's  plan.  That  is 
the  sole  thing  aimed  at  in  each  as  in  all  tempta- 
tion. In  Eden  man  fell  into  the  snare  laid  for 
him.  He  failed  to  obey  God ;  he  disobeyed.  He 
obeyed  another,  and  became  the  slave  of  him 
whom  he  obeyed.  He  lost  his  title  to  the  do- 
minion of  the  earth. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  came  as  the  new  Head  of  the 
race.  He  came  to  redeem  what  had  been  lost. 
His  coming  was  a  direct  challenge  to  the  traitor- 
prince.  The  challenge  of  His  presence  was  met 
by  the  tempter  in  the  Wilderness.  It  was  the 
second  great  attack  upon  the  race,  the  second 
temptation.  That  is,  it  was  the  second  great 
driving  attack. 

Our  Lord  was  tempted  before  the  Wilderness. 
The  Nazareth  life  was  a  continuation  of  temp- 
tations. And  he  was  tempted  by  every  sort  of 
"3 


114     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

subtle  and  stormy  effort  during  the  three  and 
a  half  years  after.  But  the  Wilderness  was  a 
great  pitched  battle.  It  was  the  first  of  two 
pitched  battles.  Our  Lord  remained  true.  He 
steadily  insisted  on  obeying  the  Father.  The 
tempter  was  defeated. 

This  led  to  the  third  great  attack  or  attempt 
at  Calvary.  Having  failed  in  the  Wilderness, 
Satan  would  try  again.  He  would  make  an- 
other yet  greater  effort.  That  second  great 
effort  was  at  Calvary.  There  he  rallied  all  his 
power.  This  was  the  second  great  pitched  bat- 
tle of  which  our  Lord  was  the  central  figure. 
And  we  men  can  never  be  grateful  enough  for 
the  steadfast  obedience,  for  the  victory  through 
obedience,  of  our  Lord  in  the  Wilderness,  and 
at  Calvary — for  everything  most  dear  to  us 
was  at  stake.  He  was  acting  for  us  as  our  rep- 
resentative and  substitute. 

The  one  thing  aimed  at  by  Satan  at  Calvary 
was  to  make  obedience  just  as  difficult  and  pain- 
ful, and  indeed  as  near  to  impossible,  as  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  do.  Obedience  has  never 
been  so  hard  before  nor  since.  By  every  bit 
of  Satanic  cunning  and  devilish  malice  of  which 
he  is  such  a  consummate  master,  he  hedged  the 
path  of  obedience  in.  By  thorns  and  thongs, 
club  and  cross,  bodily  pain,  mental  and  spirit 
pain,  hy  every  conceivable  indignity  and  shame 
and   utter  disgrace  he   sought  to  check  Jesus' 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      115 

advance,  to  choke  Him  back.     It  was  Satan  at 
his  very  best,  which  means  at  his  very  worst. 

The  One  Aim  in  Temptation. 


But — blessed  ever  be  the  Name  of  Jesus — 
He  never  flinched.  He  felt  the  pain,  He  felt 
the  shame.  None  ever  realized  and  felt  so 
keenly  all  that  was  heaped  upon  Him.  But  He 
obeyed.  He  despised  the  shame.  We  men  can't 
take  in  the  depth  of  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  sen- 
tence, "  becoming  obedient,  even  unto  death, 
yea,  the  death  of  the  cross."  ^  All  the  malice  of 
hell,  all  the  devilish  malignity  and  hatred  of  the 
tempter,  all  the  simple,  steady  obedience  of 
Jesus,  our  Lord,  to  the  Father,  all  the  matchless 
love  of  the  heart  of  God,  are  covered  by  that 
little   three-lettered   "yea." 

Here  lies  the  core  of  all  temptation,  to  make 
us  disobey,  to  ensnare  us  away  from  the  Fa- 
ther's plan.  Under  every  sort  of  device  and 
cunning  this  is  the  one  thing  being  aimed  at  in 
temptation.  Through  confusing  our  thoughts, 
through  blurring  our  conceptions  of  what  is 
right,  through  mixed  standards  of  right  and 
wrong,  through  compromise  of  some  sort,  by 
rush  and  grip  of  passion,  by  lure  and  glare  of 
ambition,  by  sudden  sweep  of  storm,  by  sly 
sneaking  of  the  snake  through  the  tall  pretty 

*Phil.  ii.  8. 


Ii6     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

grass — under  every  sort  of  approach  this  is  the 
one  thing  aimed  at — to  lead  us  to  break,  by  lit- 
tle or  by  much,  the  Father's  common  plan  for 
human  life,  or  His  particular  plan  for  each 
life. 

And  here,  too,  lies  the  one  simple  pathway 
trodden  by  our  Lord,  obedience  to  the  Father's 
plan,  regardless  of  consequences.  It  is  the  path- 
way for  us  to  tread,  in  the  strength  of  our 
Lord's  victory.  His  footprints  are  big  and  clear 
and  sharply  outhned.  We  are  to  place  our  feet 
where  He  trod.  He  has  made  the  way  easy. 
Keen  ears  to  hear,  clear  eyes  to  see,  under  those 
a  sturdy  will  to  follow — then  comes  and  stays 
the  one  simple  standard  of  right,  and  yet  bet- 
ter the  grace  and  strength  to  stick  to  that  stand- 
ard; that  is  the  unfailing  road  to  victory  over 
every  temptation. 

God  has  given  us  in  His  Word  these  great 
temptations,  pictured  out  in  clear  outline,  that  we 
may  know  the  wiles  of  the  tempter  and  the  wis- 
dom of  our  Victor.  We  want  to  look  a  bit  at 
two  of  these.  Eden  reveals  how  the  tempter 
works.  It  should  make  us  keener  in  watching. 
The  Wilderness  shows  us  how  our  Lord  re- 
sisted him.  It  should  make  us  keener  in  pray- 
ing.   Just  now,  a  look  at  Eden. 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      117 
The  Eden  Trail, 


Eden  was  God's  plan  for  man.  Eden  was 
a  garden.  God  planned  a  garden  for  our  home. 
There  was  perfect  love,  no  questionings,  no 
doubtings,  no  suspicions,  but  the  sweet,  full 
confidence  of  true  perfect  love.  Love  was  the 
atmosphere  of  the  garden.  That  meant  that 
there  was  purity.  True  love  always  includes 
sweet  purity.  There  was  no  sin,  no  blemish,  no 
weakness,  no  wrong,  but  sweetest  purity  of 
heart  and  life,  of  imagination  and  thought  and 
conduct. 

And  that  in  turn  meant,  too,  that  there  was 
companionship  between  God  and  man.  Each 
enjoyed  the  other.  There  could  be  fellowship 
because  there  was  perfect  love,  and  the  perfect 
purity  that  belongs  to  love.  There  cannot  be 
fellowship  between  Him  and  us  except  upon  His 
level  of  purity  and  love.  That  rules  us  out 
now  utterly,  except  as  we  come  back  by  the  red- 
dened pathway  made  for  us  by  our  Lord's  death. 
Through  Him  comes  purity,  and  through  Him 
love  is  made  perfect. 

There  is  God's  plan — a  garden  with  its  beauty 
and  fragrance,  perfect  love,  perfect  purity,  full 
fellowship  between  God  and  man,  among  men 
themselves,  and  between  man  and  the  lower  cre- 
ation and  all  nature.  That  is  the  Eden  plan, 
God's  plan  for  man. 


Ii8     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Then,  then  the  tempter  came.  Why  did  he 
come?  Because  he  wanted  to  get  control  of 
this  earth.  That  dominion  had  been  given  to 
man.  He  held  his  title  by  obedience.  The 
tempter  came  to  steal  away  man's  control  and 
usurp  the  earth.  If  man  could  be  made  to  dis- 
obey by  so  much  as  a  half  of  a  hair's-width,  the 
title  would  be  defective,  and  the  earth's  domin- 
ion lost;  the  tempter  would  have  mastery,  not 
simply  of  the  earth  but  of  the  man  whose  wor- 
ship he  coveted. 

Will  you  mark  very  keenly  how  he  came? 
Because  that  is  the  way  he  comes.  We  want  to 
learn  the  Eden  trail.  It  will  help  us  become 
good  trailsmen,  good  trail  detectors.  And  that 
is  an  immense  help.  To  recognize  a  temptation 
sharp  and  clear  is  one-half  of  the  victory  over 
it.     We  are  studying  the  serpent  trail  here. 

How  he  came. 


Please  note  three  points  as  to  how  he  came. 
He  came  tinder  cover;  he  used  somebody  else, 
or  something  else;  he  worked  in  disguise.  That 
is  immensely  suggestive.  Was  he  afraid  to 
come  out  into  the  open?  I  think  he  was.  Is  he 
afraid?  I  have  no  doubt  of  it.  Satan,  coming 
plainly  as  he  is,  with  the  light  we  have,  would 
be  booted  out  most  times,  and  with  no  easy 
booting  either.     And  so  he  comes  under  cover. 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      119 

It  is  his  favourite  way  of  working,  under  cover. 
He  came  through  a  serpent,  through  an  animal. 
And  mark  you  this,  he  got  the  very  best  he 
could ;  and  he  always  does.  The  animal  he  used 
was  the  subtlest  there  was  in  the  whole  animal 
creation. 

The  word  "  subtlest "  suggests  this :  not  what 
it  means  to  us  sometimes — craftiness — not  that; 
but  mental  keenness,  if  I  may  use  the  word 
"  mental "  for  an  animal.  That  is  the  thought 
of  the  word  "  subtle " — mental,  intellectual 
keenness  and  acumen.  He  got  the  best  there 
was,  and  behind  that  came  his  snaky,  sneaky, 
crafty  foot-tread;  and  he  is  still  coming.  He 
is  the  keen  man  who  will  find  out  how  to  detect 
Satan's  disguises. 

Then  he  made  his  attack  through  the  body; 
and  this  again  is  immensely  suggestive.  The 
suggestion  to  Eve  came  through  a  perfectly  nat- 
ural bodily  appetite,  the  desire  for  good  food, 
something  tasty  and  toothsome.  Through  that 
he  came  to  her.  And  if  you  will  mark  very 
keenly  again,  it  is  one  of  his  favourite  modes. 
He  came,  and  he  comes  through  the  body; 
through  a  purely  natural,  normal  function  of 
the  body,  the  desire  for  food,  the  desire  for 
drink.  He  still  works  through  the  natural  func- 
tions of  the  body.  You  quickly  think  what 
they  are,  all  in  themselves  perfectly  right  when 
held  to  their  true  uses. 


120     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

And  then  having  gotten  into  the  body  he 
comes  through  bodily  weakness,  through  disar- 
rangements of  bodily  functions.  Through  ex- 
cess in  the  use  of  the  body  he  can  come  in,  and 
he  does.  And  I  think  to-day  he  is  having  a  very 
wide  sway  among  men  through  his  bodily  ap- 
proach, far  more  than  we  guess.  And  far  more 
than  we  guess,  too,  there  is  deliverance  from 
him  in  our  bodies  through  our  Victor,  Jesus 
Christ. 

Then  he  came  through  the  mind.  Indeed,  he 
came  to  the  mind  to  reach  the  body.  Of  course 
he  spoke  to  Eve;  he  could  not  touch  her  body 
except  through  her  consent.  But  he  tempted 
and  confused  Eve  mentally,  got  her  ideas  mixed 
up,  put  in  false  thoughts  and  wrong  thoughts 
and  wrong  ideas,  and  half  truths.  He  confused 
her  mentally  and  so  confused  her  morally,  and 
so  got  the  consent  of  her  will  to  his  own  will. 
And  I  may  say  here  just  this,  the  whole  thing 
he  is  driving  at  is  to  get  the  control  of  our  will. 
But  he  cannot  without  our  consent.  Every  man 
is  a  sovereign  in  his  will.  Every  man  stands 
alone  in  imperial  solitude  in  the  realm  of  his 
will.  And  so  Satan  tries  to  affect  that,  to  con- 
trol it. 

He  still  works  through  our  mind.  He  can 
cast  on  your  mental  vision  disturbing,  distort- 
ing, and  startling  thoughts.  He  does;  and  fol- 
lowing that,   he   affects   the   whole  mental   life 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      121 

marvellously,  far  more  than  we  suspect.  I  do 
not  mean  just  now  simply  those  who  have  been 
taken  to  insane  asylums.  Without  doubt  in 
large  measure  he  is  responsible  for  their  condi- 
tion, though  always  through  their  consent. 
Everything  is  through  human  consent.  But  the 
devil  cannot  use  these  folks  very  much.  They 
have  gone  too  far.  He  is  far  more  concerned 
to  influence  mentally  us  folks  who  are  reck- 
oned to  be  sane.  He  is  working  upon  our  men- 
tal condition,  seeking  to  confuse,  and  distort, 
and  swing  us  away.  Remember  this,  that  just 
as  there  is  far  more  victory  in  our  bodies 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  than  many  of 
us  know,  so  there  is  far  more  victory  in  the 
matter  of  clear  minds,  and  quiet  minds,  and 
minds  strong  for  the  service  of  life,  through 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  on  the  ground  of  His 
blood,  than  we  have  guessed. 

And  so  these  are  the  three  ways  he  came:  un- 
der cover,  through  the  body,  through  the  mind. 


The  Generations  of  Doubt. 

Then  notice  what  he  did.  And  please  keep 
in  your  mind  as  we  are  talking,  that  we  are 
tracing  now  the  Eden  trail.  Wherever  you  find 
these  things  anywhere  you  are  coming  across 
the  slimy  trail  of  the  serpent. 

The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  raise  a  doubt 


122     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

about  God's  love.  "  Hath  God  said  you  shall 
not  eat  of  any  of  the  trees?  What  a  hard  God 
He  is  !  Lovely  trees !  Delicious  fruit !  It  was 
made  to  be  eaten;  it  will  nourish  your  body. 
What  a  cruel  God  He  is !  Can't  you  eat  of  this 
fruit?  W^hat  an  awful  God  you  have  got!" 
That  is  the  suggestion,  a  doubt  about  God's 
love.  And  following  the  language  of  the  book 
of  Genesis  I  want  to  read  to  you  the  generations 
of  this  thing  called  doubt.  There  are  ten  tables 
of  generations  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  and  I 
am  going  to  add  one  for  our  practical  help  just 
now. 

Doubt!  These  are  the  generations  of  doubt, 
as  Satan  begat  them  that  day.  Satan  begat 
doubt.  It  was  doubt  of  God's  love  that  was 
the  first  born.  Doubt  of  God's  love  gave  birth 
to  doubt  of  God  Himself.  Doubt  of  God  gave 
birth  to  doubt  of  everybody  else.  We  are  liv- 
ing in  a  world  of  doubt;  we  are  suspicious  of 
everybody;  all  the  time  watching  others  the 
wrong  way ;  keeping  a  suspicious  eye  open.  That 
is  the  second  generation.  And  doubt  always 
gives  birth  to  misunderstanding.  That  is  a 
large  generation.  There  are  a  great  many  chil- 
dren born  there.  And  misunderstanding  gave 
birth  to  criticism;  Hkewise  a  very  large  family, 
many  of  whom,  most,  or  shall  I  say  "  all  "  of 
whom  abide  with  us  until  this  day.  And  criti- 
cism  gave   birth    to   hatred    in    all    its   various 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      123 

forms;  and  the  generations  of  hatred  are  vio- 
lence in  all  its  forms.  And  the  children  there 
are,  personally,  murder;  and  on  the  wholesale, 
war.  These  are  the  generations  of  doubt  of 
God's  love  which  Satan  begat  that  day  in  the 
Garden  of  Eden.  And  a  peculiar  thing  about 
these  generations  of  Satan  is  that  they  are  so 
long-lived.  Methusaleh  died  in  infancy  by 
comparison. 

The  second  thing  that  Satan  did  was  to  tell 
a  lie.  Perhaps  I  need  not  stop  long  there.  He, 
of  course,  is  called  the  father  of  lies,  all  kinds 
of  lies,  if  you  will  mark.  There  is  quite  a 
large  family  here.  I  need  hardly  label  them 
all  to-night.  There  are  white  lies  and  black 
lies;  there  are  small  lies  as  men  measure  them, 
and  large  lies ;  there  are  social  lies  and  there 
are  business  lies.  There  are  lies  that  you  live; 
there  are  lip  lies  and  life  lies.  The  whole  world 
is  filled  with  the  lies  that  have  grown  out  of 
the  first  that  Satan  told;  and  they  all  come  from 
him.  If  you  will  mark  very  keenly  again  this 
is  a  bit  of  the  Eden  trail.  All  lying  by  look 
or  lip  or  for  any  purpose,  social,  personal,  re- 
ligious— there  is  a  large  range  of  religious  lies, 
you  know — the  whole  thing,  the  whole  brood 
can  be  traced  directly  to  this  great  father  of 
lies. 

The  third  thing — he  kindled  the  fires  of  an 
unholy  ambition.     And  I  would  need  to  have 


124     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

a  whole  evening  for  a  talk  on  a  thing  of  that 
kind.  He  gave  to  Adam  and  Eve  an  unholy 
ambition.  He  said  to  Eve,  "  Ye  shall  be  as 
God !  "  Ah ;  there  is  Satan's  ambition,  to  be 
as  God!  to  be  worshipped  as  God.  He  said  to 
Eve,  ''  You  can  by  a  simple  act  of  your  own 
lift  yourself  above  this  level  where  God  has  put 
you,  to  a  level  with  God  Himself."  And  all  the 
wrong  ambition  of  life  had  its  birthplace  and 
its  birthtime  there.  I  hardly  know  how  to  say 
briefly  enough  and  simply  enough  what  I  want 
to  say  here.  This  itch  seems  very  common 
everywhere.  It  is  in  commercial  Hfe;  it  is  in 
social  life,  very,  very  strong;  it  is  in  political 
life;  it  is  in  business  life;  it  is  in  church  life; 
it  is  in  every  phase  of  life;  the  effort  to  get 
yourself  up  above  where  God  has  placed  you 
by  improper  means.  The  feverish  fingering  of 
the  door-knob  upstairs,  and  the  insistently 
working  your  way  up  the  stairs  where  you  have 
no  right  to  be.  The  itch  of  an  unholy  ambition 
was  the  third  thing  he  gave  to  Eve. 

And  the  fourth  was  this,  he  urged  disobedi- 
ence. The  one  keyword  of  the  true  life  is 
obedience.  The  keyword  of  Satan's  life  is 
disobedience  to  God.  The  one  thing  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  insisted  on  doing  was  this, 
obeying  His  Father.  He  could  make  bread,  but 
He  would  not  make  it  at  Satan's  suggestion.  He 
waited  until  the  Father  said,  ''  Feed  those  hun- 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works     125 

gry  "  by  Galilee's  waters.  The  obeying  the  Fa- 
ther was  the  one  touchstone  of  His  life :  and  it 
must  be  the  one  touchstone  of  our  lives. 


"More  anxious  not  to  serve  Thee  much. 
But  please  Thee  perfectly." 

But  Satan  that  day  introduced  the  further  itch 
of  disobedience. 

And  the  fifth  thing  he  tried  to  do;  it  came 
later,  after  the  act  of  disobedience;  please  mark 
that  very  keenly;  the  fifth  thing  came  after  Eve 
gave  him  a  very  large  door  to  get  in,  and  it  was 
this — a  suggestion  of  impurity.  The  serpent 
does  not  speak  of  it:  it  comes  as  a  mental  sug- 
gestion. Mark  keenly,  in  that  third  chapter 
there  was  no  act  of  impurity,  there  is  nothing 
wrong  in  the  way  of  impurity  except  what  is 
in  the  imagination  of  those  two,  which  led  to 
the  seeking  for  garments,  which  were  not  in- 
tended in  the  first  place  for  the  body  but  wholly 
for  the  mind.  And  this  is  the  commonest  sin 
of  the  whole  race,  through  all  the  world,  from 
that  day  until  this, — impurity,  that  is  to  say,  if 
you  will  mark  keenly  again,  simply  this,  the 
using  of  a  perfectly  proper,  holy  function  in  a 
way  not  intended.  Simply  that;  but  all  of  that. 
That  is  the  core  of  impurity  of  every  sort  and 
shape  and  degree. 

And  I  wish  you  would  mark  very  keenly  a 


126     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

difference  here  in  Satan's  approach.  Before 
their  act  of  disobedience  and  afterwards  his  ap- 
proach is  different.  Before  that  disobedience 
he  came  from  the  outside;  afterwards  he  came 
from  the  inside.  The  serpent  said,  "  Eat  the 
fruit.  God  is  not  good !  "  But  when  the  fruit 
was  eaten  the  serpent  was  dismissed;  his  work 
was  done.  Through  the  act  of  disobedience 
there  was  an  inner  door  open,  and  through  that 
door  the  evil  one  came  and  put  the  image  of 
the  wrong  thing  on  the  mind.  Before  the  eat- 
ing he  came  from  without;  after  the  eating  he 
came  within.  To-day,  he  comes  both  ways.  He 
had  only  one  way  of  coming  in  the  beginning: 
now  he  has  two,  and  he  uses  both. 

Some  of  the  Results. 

Then  I  want  you  to  notice,  please,  a  fourth 
item  in  Satan's  coming,  some  of  the  results. 
The  first  was  this,  voluntary  separation  by  man 
from  God.  If  you  will  mark  again,  please,  the 
separation  between  God  and  man  did  not  begin 
with  God.  It  began  with  man.  God  did  not 
go  away;  man  went  away.  He  hid  himself  be- 
hind a  tree.  That  is  a  very  bad  use  of  trees. 
Trees  were  never  meant  for  any  such  use  as 
that  of  hiding  away  from  God.  And  ever  since 
man  has  been  hiding  from  God.  God  does  not 
go  away;  man  does. 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      127 

The  second  thing  was  this,  and  I  wish  you 
might  mark  this  keenly  if  you  will,  a  second  re- 
sult, moral  cowardice.  Notice  what  our  splen- 
did first  man  of  the  race  said.  "  The  zvonian 
Thou  gavest  me!  /  am  not  to  blame;  she  is. 
What  did  You  give  me  that  woman  for?" 
Blaming  somebody  else.  Contemptible  cow- 
ardice ;  but  he  does  not  stop  there,  ''  The  woman 
Thou  gavest;  Thou  art  to  blame  after  all;  it  is 
all  Thy  fault." 

Moody  tells  about  going  to  a  prison  in  New 
York  City  and  having  a  service,  and  then  going 
down  afterwards  to  talk  with  the  prisoners  one 
by  one,  and  he  said,  "  I  never  found  such  an 
innocent  lot  of  men  in  my  whole  life  as  in  that 
place.  Each  man  explained  that  somebody  else 
was  to  blame."  Adam  seems  to  have  given 
birth  to  a  great  race  of  moral  cowards.  ""/  am 
all  right.  It  is  her  fault !  It  is  his  fault.  Watch 
him!  Look  back  here!  Keep  an  eye  on  that 
man,  I  am  all  right !  "  Moral  Cowards.  They 
are  extremely  common. 

And  then  a  third  result  I  wish  you  might 
mark  yet  more  keenly  was  this — fear.  Sin  al- 
ways produces  fear,  and  I  wish  I  had  time  this 
evening  to  talk  about  this,  the  fears  that  affect 
body  and  mind.  If  I  could  remove  from  your 
minds  all  sense  of  fear  to-night  you  would  go 
out  of  this  hall  made  over  new  in  your  bodies 
as  well  as  in  your  mental  power.     Fear  is  one 


128     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

of  the  most  slavish  results  of  sin.  Adam  said, 
"  I  was  afraid,  I  was  afraid."  And  he  repeated 
the  sentence  that  is  used  more  times  on  human 
lips  than  any  other,  I  think.  "  I  am  afraid !  I 
am  afraid!  I  am  afraid."  It  is  so  common  that 
we  use  it  when  we  are  not  afraid.  But  the 
sense  of  fear  is  woven  into  the  whole  life  of 
the  race.  And  fear  always  affects  the  body, 
intensely  and  potently  and  subtly.  If  I  am 
swayed  by  a  spirit  of  love  and  a  perfect  confi- 
dence my  body  is  freer;  its  functions  are  dis- 
charged more  freely;  I  am  stronger  physically; 
and  I  am  clearer  mentally.  But  fear  locks  up 
the  body.  It  deprives  it  of  its  strength;  it  af- 
fects the  mind;  it  affects  the  whole  nature, 
body,  mind,  and  spirit.  The  whole  thing  began 
that  Eden  day. 

Now  that  is  the  Eden  trail.  Have  you  ever 
seen  it  down  your  way?  Is  it  a  strange  trail  to 
you?  If  you  have  seen  it,  or  any  part  of  it, 
you  may  know  it  is  by  that  old  Satan  serpent. 
You  don't  see  him;  he  is  under  cover;  but  you 
see  his  trail.  It  is  very  plain  in  the  Bible.  If 
you  will  run  through  the  whole  Book  of  God, 
you  see  the  serpent  trail.  Satan  himself  is 
mentioned  only  a  very  few  times.  I  can  almost 
repeat  the  times,  they  are  so  few.  But  his  trail 
is  everywhere. 

What  about  the  trail  in  the  book  of  life? 
Any  trail  down  your  way?    Shall  I  repeat  these 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      129 

things?  Doubt,  with  its  offspring  of  misunder- 
standing, criticism,  and  violence;  lying,  unholy 
ambition,  disobedience,  impurity,  moral  cow- 
ardice, fear,  bodily  disorder,  mental  disorder, 
the  lack  of  a  clear,  quiet,  sane  mind!  How 
about  the  trail?  Because  wherever  that  trail 
is,  in  small  degree  or  large,  there  is  evidence  of 
the  serpent's  presence. 

And  coming  to  the  close  of  our  quiet  talk  to- 
gether, and  I  wish  you  might  listen  very  quietly 
here,  if  there  be  any  of  this  sort  of  thing,  any 
doubt  of  God,  any  failure  to  obey,  any  moral 
cowardice,  lies  of  any  colour  or  any  size  or 
degree,  any  sense  of  fear  which  means  a  lack 
of  a  quiet  faith,  any  using  of  a  pure  holy  bodily 
function  in  a  way  not  intended,  if  there  be  any 
of  these,  then  you  may  know  that  there,  hidden 
away,  maybe  half  out  of  sight,  but  allowed  his 
corner,  is  Satan. 

I  wonder  how  many  of  us  are  giving  the  en- 
emy covert  and  comfort.  I  suggest  that  we  go 
into  some  quiet  corner,  and  breathe  the  prayer 
of  the  Psalmist,  '*  Search  me,  oh  God,  and  know 
my  heart,  and  help  me  know  what  Thou  dost 
know;  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts,  motives, 
purposes,  loves,  innermost,  undermost;  and  help 
me  know  what  Thou  dost  know.  And  lead  me 
to  see  if  there  be  any  way  in  me  that  grieves 
Thee  and  gives  Satan  a  hold  against  Thee." 
And   then,    if  you   will,   add   this   bit   to   your 


130     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

prayer, — "  Lead  me  out  of  that  way,  into  Thy 
way,  the  way  everlasting." 

And  if  perchance  you  are  thinking,  "  Ah !  you 
don't  know  how  tight  on  my  Hfe  some  of  these 
things  are;  you  don't  know  how  fear  can  grip, 
and  disobedience  grip,  and  cowardice  grip,  and 
other  unnamed  things,  how  they  can  grip."  And 
you  say,  "How  can  I  put  them  out?"  Well, 
the  last  word  just  now  is  this,  the  last  word  is 
from  the  last  book  of  the  Bible.  Our  message 
was  from  the  beginning  of  the  first  book.  The 
last  word  is  near  the  last  of  the  last  book,' 
*'  They  overcame  him  because  of  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb."  That  is  the  common  reading.  But 
I  like  the  other  reading  of  it :  "  They  overcame 
him  on  the  ground  of  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb." 

I  want  to  tell  you  this — there  is  only  liberty 
to-night  from  every  bit  of  the  Eden  trail 
through  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb;  only  so;  but 
so.  Bodily  disorder,  bodily  weakness,  mental 
disturbance,  fear,  impurity,  doubt,  disobedience, 
moral  cowardice,  lies,  all  the  rest  of  it;  there  is 
victory  over  all  through  the  Blood  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  And  while  we  have  been  think- 
ing of  that  precious  blood  as  the  entrance  into 
the  Christian  life,  let  us  remember  this,  that 
day  by  day  there  is  victory  for  us,  and  there 
is  freedom  for  us  from  every  bit  of  the  whole 
Eden  trail,  on  the  ground  of  the  Blood  of  our 
*  Revelation  xii.  11. 


Eden:  How  the  Tempter  Works      131 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God.  Shall  we 
go  out  to-night  and  see  to  it  that  Satan  is 
undercut  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  and  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  have  the  use  of  us 
as  He  will  in  His  great  outreaching  plan  for 
His  world? 


THE    WILDERNESS:    HOW     THE 
TEMPTER    IS    DEFEATED 

Forestalling  the   Tempter. 

We  have  talked  a  bit  about  the  temptation  by 
Satan,  in  Eden,  upon  Adam,  the  first  head  of 
the  race.  Now  we  want  to  talk  about  the  sec- 
ond great  attack  by  Satan  upon  our  race, 
through  its  second  Head,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
And  I  want  first  of  all  to  remind  you  of  this, 
that  the  temptation  in  the  Wilderness  was  a 
necessity.  It  was  a  necessity  for  Satan  be- 
cause his  kingdom  was  in  peril,  and  he  must 
fight  for  that  which  he  wanted.  It  was  a  neces- 
sity for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  new  Head 
of  our  race,  because  He  was  to  worst  the 
tempter  in  the  temptation,  and  win  back  the 
dominion  of  the  whole  earth  for  our  human 
kind. 

I  think  we  will,  perhaps,  understand  a  bit 
better  the  necessity  of  the  Wilderness  tempta- 
tion if  we  remember  this,  that  when  Adam  was 
created  he  was  given  the  dominion  over  the 
earth;  he  was  the  earth's  undermaster.  He  was 
lord  of  the  creation  by  the  Father's  appoint- 
ment. The  prince  of  darkness  was  eager  to  get 
133 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      133 

that  dominion  for  himself  from  man  and  over 
man,  and  through  man,  and  so  he  made  the 
attack  in  Eden,  and  man  fell  and  Satan  suc- 
ceeded. 

Now  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  stepped  on  the 
scene  to  win  the  earth,  and  the  whole  race  of 
men,  back  to  its  original  allegiance  to  His  Fa- 
ther. Satan  must  fight  Him.  Satan  was  steal- 
ing men's  allegiance  by  deceiving  them.  The 
temptation  in  the  Wilderness  was  a  necessity  for 
Satan  because  he  must  fight  his  way  against 
the  new  Man,  God's  new  Man.  His  stolen  king- 
dom was  in  peril  because  of  this  Lord  Jesus. 
The  Wilderness  temptation  was  a  necessity  to 
Jesus  Christ  because  in  it  He  met  the  head  of 
the  opposing  forces  and  foiled  him.  The  vic- 
tory of  Calvary  has  the  first  striking  of  its  note 
in  this  temptation.  In  winning  over  Satan  there 
He  began  His  victory  on  Calvary.  And,  if  you 
mark  it  keenly,  the  whole  kingdom  of  evil 
spirits  knew  of  the  Lord  Jesus'  victory  in  the 
Wilderness.  Whenever  and  wherever  He  came 
they  were  afraid  and  fled. 

I  want  to  say  what  I  have  to  say  under  three 
very  simple  heads.  The  first,  the  Holy  Spirit's 
preparation  for  the  temptation.  I  ask  you  to 
mark  the  fact  that  the  Holy  Spirit  made  prepa- 
ration for  this  temptation.  He  took  control  of 
the  situation.  The  initiative  in  this  temptation 
was  not  taken  by  Satan;  it  was  taken  by  the 


134     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Holy  Spirit.  It  says  very  plainly,  "  Then  was 
Jesus  led  up  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness 
to  be  tempted !  "  '  He  took  the  initiative.  He 
displayed  masterly  generalship.  He  did  not 
wait  until  the  tempter  came,  but  obliged  the 
tempter  to  come.  He  forced  the  fighting.  It 
was  a  fine  bit  of  generalship.  We  ought  to  fol- 
low His  lead  far  more  there.  Most  of  us,  may 
I  say,  wait  until  we  are  tempted,  and  then,  half- 
scared,  seek  for  help.  But  we  should  always 
pray  ahead,  and  watch  ahead,  and  take  the 
ground  before  the  Evil  One  can  come.  That  is 
what  the  wondrous  Holy  Spirit  does  here.  He 
forestalled  the  evil  one. 

At  one  time  Mr.  Moody  was  on  an  ocean 
liner,  in  a  great  storm,  and  they  were  sure  the 
boat  was  going  to  the  bottom.  They  were  all 
praying;  everybody  prays  in  a  bad  storm,  you 
know.  A  gentleman  told  about  going  to  one  of 
the  decks,  and  to  his  great  surprise  he  saw  Mr. 
Moody  standing  on  the  deck,  not  in  the  prayer 
meeting  down  below,  but  standing  quietly  look- 
ing out  over  the  raging  waters.  And  he  said, 
'*  Why !  Mr.  Moody,  aren't  you  down  in  the 
prayer  meeting ! "  And  in  his  quiet  way  Mr. 
Moody  said,  "  Oh !  I  am  prayed  up." 

There  is  a  marvellous  generalship  in  praying 
ahead.  We  must  not  wait  till  we  are  driven  to 
pray,  if  we  would  forestall  the  evil  one.  Do 
*  Matthew  iv.  i. 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      135 

as  the  Holy  Spirit  does  here.  He  took  charge 
of  the  situation.  That  is  the  first  suggestion  in 
the  Holy  Spirit's  preparation. 


The  Holy  Spirit's  Generalship. 

And  then  the  second  suggestion  is  this.  He 
took  possession  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  Jesus  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Holy  Spirit 
took  possession  of  our  Lord.  Before  the  temp- 
tation came,  the  Spirit  filled  Him  with  Himself, 
to  meet  the  temptation. 

And  yet  I  want  to  remind  you  of  this,  and  I 
ask  you  to  listen  keenly  that  you  may  not  mis- 
understand— the  Lord  Jesus  was  not  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  a  sense  peculiar  to  Himself. 
Now  I  say  that  reverently,  but  I  say  it  because 
of  this, — He  insisted  at  every  point  in  living 
the  life  of  a  man,  dependent  entirely  upon  the 
Holy  Spirit.  And  the  thing  to  mark  is  this, 
that  just  as  the  Son  of  Man  as  man  was  filled 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  before  the  temptation  came, 
that  He  might  meet  and  resist  the  temptation, 
even  so  you  and  I  will  be  filled  if  He  may  have 
His  way,  filled  beforehand  that  we  may  meet 
temptation  as  He  did,  prepared  ahead.  It  is 
immensely  suggestive  to  us.  So  many  of  us 
play  a  back-handed  game.  We  wait  until  we 
are  pushed,  and  then  we  do  the  best  we  can. 
If  we  yield  to  the  Holy  Spirit's  sway  we  will 


136     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

be  prepared  ahead  and  force  the  fighting,  and 
make  the  devil  hunt  his  corner. 

Then  note  very  keenly,  please,  the  Holy 
Spirit  took  charge  of  our  Lord's  temptation; 
not  in  a  pecuhar  way;  in  just  the  same  way 
that  He  takes  supervision  of  our  temptation. 
He  takes  supervision  of  all  our  temptations.  The 
whole  thing  is  to  yield  to  His  filling,  to  His 
sway;  He  takes  care  of  the  rest.  In  i  Corinthi- 
ans X.  13  we  are  told,  "  There  hath  no  tempta- 
tion taken  you  but  such  as  man  can  bear:  but 
God  .  .  .  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted 
above  that  ye  are  able."  He  is  the  Superin- 
tendent of  our  temptations.  If  we  yield  to  His 
sway,  he  attends  to  the  victory  always.  If  we 
appreciated  this,  it  would  change  our  whole  atti- 
tude toward  temptation. 

Most  folks  fear  temptation.  We  are  afraid 
of  it.  We  are  afraid  we  will  be  tempted.  But 
instead  of  that  we  ought  to  think  of  the  tempta- 
tion as  a  chance  to  defeat  the  devil.  A  temp- 
tation is  two  things:  it  is  a  chance  to  make  the 
devil  go;  secondly  it  is  a  chance  to  win  a  great 
victory.  We  ought  not  to  think  of  the  tempta- 
tion from  the  evil  one's  side  only,  who  will  over- 
come us  if  we  stand  alone.  Were  we  to  magnify 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  think  of  the  temptation 
from  His  side,  that  would  mean  a  fresh  defeat 
for  the  tempter,  and  a  fresh  consciousness  of 
the   victory    of   our   Lord   Jesus    Christ.     We 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      137 

would  go  to  the  ground  of  the  temptation,  in 
the  path  of  duty,  never  otherwise,  but  we  would 
go  there  with  a  zest  because  we  know  in  our 
Lord's  power  it  means  victory,  and  it  means  de- 
feat; defeat  for  Satan,  and  the  victory  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  anew  in  our  lives. 

Then  please  mark  keenly,  the  Holy  Spirit 
stays  with  our  Lord  Jesus  through  the  tempta- 
tion. He  took  charge  ahead  of  the  whole  situ- 
ation; He  prepared  our  Lord  for  the  temptation 
as  a  man;  He  stayed  with  Him  throughout. 
There  is  one  thing  you  can  count  on  all  the  time, 
the  blessed  Holy  Spirit's  presence  v/ith  us.  He 
does  not  leave  us.  H  there  is  any  parting  of 
company  here,  it  must  be  after  the  old  Eden 
pattern;  that  is,  you  go,  God  doesn't  go.  It 
was  Adam  who  hunted  the  cover  of  the  trees. 
The  blessed  Holy  Spirit  stays. 

And  then  the  fourth  thing  to  mark  in  the 
Spirit's  preparation  is  a  very  keen  thing,  the 
place  of  the  temptation.  The  place  was  the 
Wilderness.  The  Wilderness  of  Judea  prac- 
tically begins  at  the  door,  or  the  gate  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  it  runs  down  that  eastern  slope  to  the 
great  Dead  Sea.  What  does  the  Wilderness  mean  ? 
What  does  the  Dead  Sea  mean?  You  know.  It 
is  the  greatest  sin-scar  on  the  surface  of  the 
whole  earth.  There  were  the  cities  of  the  plain, 
beautiful  and  fruitful  as  Eden,  as  the  garden  of 
the  Lord   for  beauty  and   fertility.     They  are 


138     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

sunken  out;  they  are  swept  away.  Judgment 
upon  sin  is  scarred  into  the  earth's  surface.  Will 
you  mark  keenly  that  the  Dead  Sea — and  the 
Wilderness  is  the  fringe  of  the  Dead  Sea — the 
Dead  Sea,  the  whole  Wilderness  is  the  fact  of 
judgment  upon  sin  scarred  into  the  very  earth's 
surface.  If  folks  do  not  believe  the  Bible,  the 
Old  Testament,  let  them  go  to  the  Dead  Sea, 
and  simply  study  the  case  historically.  The 
Dead  Sea  speaks  out  the  terrible  fact  of  sin,  and 
the  sure  coming  of  judgment  upon  sin. 

Now  this  is  the  place  where  the  temptation 
took  place.  Who  chose  it?  Satan?  Not  a  bit 
of  it.  It  was  the  last  place  he  would  choose. 
He  did  not  like  the  Wilderness.  It  was  too 
uncomfortably  familiar  to  him;  it  told  too  much 
of  his  trail  for  him  to  choose  it.  No!  The 
Holy  Spirit  set  the  first  bit  of  the  temptation  in 
the  place  where  sin's  scar  was  burned  deepest 
in.    A  bit  of  his  strategic  generalship ! 

And  then,  fifth  point  in  this  preparation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  time  of  the  temptation, 
forty  days.  That  is  to  say  a  long  time.  It  was 
a  full  test;  it  was  a  severe  test.  You  know  the 
time  test  is  the  hardest  test.  We  are  all  fairly 
good,  I  suppose,  at  short-suffering,  but  a  few 
of  us  do  not  know  much  about  long-sufifering. 
*'  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  .  .  .  long-suffer- 
ing." '  The  time  test  is  the  hardest  test  for 
^  Galatians  v.  22 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      139 

everybody.  You  keep  sweet  for  a  while,  but 
how  about  keeping  sweet  all  the  while.  Forty 
days  long  the  Holy  Spirit  plans  the  temptation 
for  Satan.  Listen,  keenly,  that  Satan  may  have 
the  fullest  sweep  of  his  power,  and  do  his  best 
and  his  worst,  and  that  he  might  know  a  cer- 
tain defeat,  and  the  more  certain  because  the 
temptation  lasted  so  long. 

And  just  one  last  minor  suggestion  under 
that  preparation  is  this — the  wild  beasts  were 
there.  What  does  that  suggest?  Would  they 
help  the  Lord,  do  you  think?  Or  would  they 
hinder?  That  bit  about  the  wild  beasts  is  an 
added  touch  to  show  the  terribleness  of  the 
situation  for  the  man  Jesus.  I  wish  I  had  a 
company  of  missionaries  here  just  now,  foreign 
missionaries,  to  remind  them  particularly,  and 
all  of  us,  that  a  calm  confidence  in  our  Father 
gives  us  peculiar  power  over  the  whole  lower 
creation.  Man  was  given  the  dominion  over 
the  lower  creation,  and  as  we  rest  in  the  vic- 
tory of  our  new  Head,  the  Lord  Jesus,  we  shall 
just  quietly,  calmly,  meet  any  situation,  any  wild 
beasts.  A  calm  confidence  in  the  Father  gives 
man  his  real  dominion  power  over  the  lower 
creation. 

Our  Lord's  Unfailing  Response. 

The  second  point  that  I  want  to  speak  of  is 
our  Lord's  response  to  the  temptation.    He  was 


140     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

"  in  the  Spirit."  That  means  this,  He  yielded 
the  control  of  His  life  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  That 
is  the  first  "  how  "  of  meeting  temptation,  a  sur- 
render, complete,  unfaltering,  habitual,  to  the 
sovereignty,  the  gracious  mastery  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  That  is  the  first  bit  in  His  response. 
He  was  "  in  the  Spirit,"  yielding  to  the  mastery 
of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And  the  second  bit  here  is  this:  full  simple 
obedience  to  the  Father.  You  search  through 
these  records  in  Matthew  and  Mark  and  Luke, 
and  mark  the  emphasis  more  and  more  on  this, 
that  our  Master's  strength  in  all  His  temptation, 
as  in  all  His  life  on  its  purely  human  side,  was 
this.  His  full,  simple,  cheery  obedience  to  His 
Father's  will,  because  it  was  His  Father's  will. 
I  would  say,  not  because  it  appealed  to  His 
judgment,  but  because  it  was  His  Father's  will. 
Doubtless  it  did  appeal  to  His  judgment,  but  if 
our  Lord  had  been  obliged  to  obey  the  Father 
where  He  did  not  understand  why  He  should. 
He  would  have  obeyed  blindly. 

That  is  the  very  key  on  the  human  side  to 
His  whole  marvellous  career  from  Nazareth  on 
to  Calvary.  There  was  an  acquiescence  in  the 
Father's  plan  because  it  was  the  Father's  plan, 
and  there  was  a  confidence  in  the  Father's  love. 
He  knew  He  could  trust  His  Father.  This  is 
the  very  underneath  basis  of  His  side  of  this 
whole  story.     I  may  open  my  Bible  to  the  first 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      141 

chapter  of  the  first  page  of  Genesis,  and  if  I 
were  to  read  every  passage  or  illustration  of 
obedience  or  failure  to  obey  I  must  stop  at 
every  page  clear  through.  Obey!  obey!  obey! 
simply,  intelligently,  the  will  of  the  Father,  be- 
cause it  is  the  Father's  will,  whether  you  see 
your  way  out  or  not.  That  is  the  very  under- 
ground work  of  our  Master's  victory  in  the 
wilderness. 

And  then  the  third  bit  is  this.  He  used  the 
Word  of  God.  I  suppose  it  is  true  that  men 
have  superstitiously  worshipped  the  old  Book 
of  God,  merely  as  a  book.  And  yet,  keeping 
that  in  mind  as  a  thing  to  be  avoided,  the  use 
of  the  Word  of  God  cannot  be  over  magnified. 
It  is  God's  own  Word.  There  is  more  than 
print  here.  There  is  a  Person  here,  in  these 
very  pages,  speaking  to  us  of  our  need  and  touch- 
ing our  hearts.  Our  Lord  Jesus  used  the  Word 
of  God  in  meeting  the  adversary.  And  we  shall 
see  by  and  by  what  the  adversary  thought  of 
that  method. 


The  Temptation  itself. 


Then  mark  the  temptation  itself.  The  temp- 
tation ran  through  forty  days.  The  bit  we  get 
is  simply  the  climax.  Those  three  great  temp- 
tations are  simply  the  last  terrific  onset,  but  the 
temptation    has    run    through    forty    days,    as 


142     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Mark's  note  makes  quite  clear.  And  you  can 
imagine  how  subtle  old  Satan  was.  How 
suavely  and  sneakily  and  smoothly  the  old  ser- 
pent began  his  attack.  Through  forty  days  it 
ran  until  the  climax  in  the  bit  that  is  given 
to  us. 

It  was  a  real  temptation.  Our  Lord  was 
tempted.  That  is  to  say,  please  listen  keenly, 
and  do  not  misunderstand,  it  could  not  have 
been  a  temptation  unless  there  was  present  the 
possibility  of  a  yielding  to  temptation.  There 
is  no  temptation  where  there  is  no  possibility 
of  yielding  to  it.  You  can  say  on  one  side  of 
the  question  that  our  Lord  could  not  yield. 
Theoretically,  ethically  you  say  quite  truly,  that 
He  could  not  yield  to  temptation.  But  prac- 
tically it  was  entirely  possible  for  Him  to  yield. 
He  was  really  tempted.  He  faced  the  question 
of  yielding.  He  felt  the  power  of  each  tempta- 
tion. But  He  asserted  His  will,  and  in  full  de- 
pendence upon  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit,  He  met 
the  tempter  at  every  point.  He  did  not  meet  the 
temptations  as  Son  of  God;  please  remember 
that.  When  you  are  tempted,  please  remember 
that  He  met  every  temptation  as  a  man,  just  as 
we  must  meet  ours,  and  as  we  may  meet  them 
in  dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  first  temptation  was  an  appeal  to  the 
body.  Just  as  in  Eden  so  still  he  tempts  through 
the  body.    It  is  a  favourite  mode.    Satan  is  still 


How  the  Tempter  is  Defeated      143 

coming  to  each  of  us  through  our  bodies,  far 
more  than  we  suspect.  The  temptation  was  to 
a  perfectly  proper  appetite.  The  desire  for  food 
is  a  perfectly  normal  desire.  Satan  prefers  the 
normal  paths  of  life.  He  always  comes  along 
the  regular  road  of  life.  And  then  he  ap- 
proached Him  at  His  likeliest  point.  The  like- 
liest point,  the  openest  point  was  the  hunger,  a 
perfectly  normal  condition  of  His  body.  He  is 
always  watching  for  the  likeliest  point.  And 
because  a  man's  strong  point  is  very  apt  to  be- 
come, in  turn,  his  weak  point,  therefore  guard 
your  strong  points  and  guard  your  weak  points, 
and,  I  would  suggest,  guard  all  between,  from 
my  experience. 

Then  note  the  temptation  itself:  Satan  said, 
''  If  Thou  be  the  Son  of  God."  I  think  the  bet- 
ter reading  in  English  would  be  this,  "  Since 
Thou  art " ;  "  If "  in  the  sense  of  "  since." 
"  If  "  raises  a  doubt  about  Jesus  Christ's  divin- 
ity, and  asks  Him  to  prove  it.  "  Since  "  means 
he  is  asking  our  Lord  to  use  His  divinity  to 
help  out  His  humanity.  It  was  a  temptation 
not  to  prove  that  He  was  divine,  but  to  use 
divine  power  to  help  Himself  as  a  man.  Jesus 
said,  "  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone."  Sa- 
tan said,  "  You  are  Son  of  God ;  go  up  to  the 
God  level."  "  Ah,  no,"  our  Lord  says,  "  I  came 
down  for  my  brothers'  sake.  I  will  never  leave 
My  brothers.     I  will  stay  with  My  brothers.     I 


144     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

will  meet  every  temptation  as  My  brothers  must 
meet  it.  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but 
by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God." 

He  answered  as  a  man.  I  love  that.  Our 
Lord  was  a  man,  tempted  in  all  points  like  as 
we  are.  He  knows  how  things  are  going  with 
you:  He  knows  all  about  your  life.  He  comes 
down  alongside  in  the  Wilderness  and  says, 
*'  Let  us  pull  together.    I  will  stay  right  by  you." 

The  second  bit  in  the  answer  was  this,  full 
trust.  He  said,  *'  Even  if  I  starve,  My  Father 
will  attend  to  that.  Maybe  I  will  starve.  I  have 
had  nothing  for  forty  days,  nothing  but  stones. 
You  can't  live  on  stones.  It  loo!;3  Hke  starving. 
Well,  I  am  willing  to  starve  if  that  is  the  Fa- 
ther's wish.  I  am  not  concerned;  the  Father 
will  take  care  of  the  starving.  Man  shall  not 
live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  of  God." 
And  this  is  far  more  true  to-day  in  the  things 
that  touch  our  physical  strength  than  most  of  us 
know  yet. 

The  thing  that  Satan  asked  Him  to  do  was 
not  wrong  in  itself.  Our  Lord  supplied  food 
afterwards  in  far  greater  measure.  The  mere 
changing  of  stones  to  loaves  would  not  have 
been  wrong,  if  underneath  the  Father  was  guid- 
ing. But  the  wrong  would  have  been  in  doing 
anything  that  the  evil  one  suggested.  And  I 
want  to  say  this,  it  is  bad  to  do  good  at  Sa- 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      145 

tan's  suggestion.  It  is  a  very  common  thing 
among  Christian  workers  to  say  ''  This  is  a  good 
thing  to  do."  Yes,  this  is  a  good  thing  to  do — 
if  the  Master  told  you  to  do  it.  It  is  not  good 
to  do  good  unless  it  is  God's  will  for  you. 

Now  mark  very  keenly  the  effect  upon  Satan. 
He  left  that  temptation.  Practically  he  gave  in. 
He  could  do  nothing.  Apparently  he  closed.  If 
you  notice  keenly  you  will  see  he  closes  only 
to  start  again.  Have  you  found  that  out?  If 
you  have  met  him  at  one  point  of  temptation, 
and  he  has  left  you,  just  remember  this,  he  is 
around  the  corner  figuring  out  where  he  can 
best  strike  in  next.  He  leaves  to  come  back. 
The  Word  of  God  forces  him  to  leave.  It  is 
very  striking:  he  is  afraid  of  that  Book.  The 
quotation  shuts  him  up  at  once.  He  leaves,  yet 
only  to  shift  the  attack,  only  to  come  back  on 
another  line  of  approach. 

''Lead  us  not  into  Temptation.'* 


The  second  temptation  cunningly  plays  upon 
our  Lord's  mood.  Our  Lord  says,  "  Not  by 
bread,  but  by  trust."  "  Ah !  "  the  devil  says, 
*'we  will  just  play  on  His  trust  in  His  Father. 
He  is  in  a  deeply  religious  mood.  We  will  have 
a  religious  temptation."  And  so  he  shifts  the 
scene.  I  think  he  is  very  glad  to  do  this.  He 
gets  away  from  that  Wilderness;  he  is  uncom- 


146     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

fortable  there.  He  takes  the  very  height  of  the 
temple.  It  is  a  religious  atmosphere.  I  some- 
times think  the  temptations  hardest  to  meet  are 
those   that  have   a   religious   setting. 

The  tempter  said  this  time,  "  Since  Thou  art 
God's  Son,  cast  Thyself  down."  That  is  to  say, 
"  You  trust  the  Father.  That  is  splendid !  Now 
just  show  the  w^orld  how  you  do  trust  Him. 
Cast  yourself  down  before  it,  and  they  will  ac- 
cept you  as  their  Messiah.  Just  show  all  the 
world  how  you  trust  your  Father."  Satan 
preaching  the  Gospel  of  Trust !  Have  you  ever 
known  that  temptation?    I  have. 

There  is  an  inner  response  here.  The  inner 
response  to  the  first  temptation  is  in  the  hunger ; 
the  inner  response  here  was  His  settled  pur- 
pose to  trust  His  Father.  But  His  reply  comes, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  test.  To  throw  Myself  down 
v/ould  be  testing  God's  love.  Does  God  love? 
I  will  not  test  it.  I  will  rest  upon  it.  Love 
never  tests.  Love  trusts.  Thou  shalt  not  make 
test  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  but  go  in  the  way 
He  leads." 

The  third  temptation  was  the  last  attempt. 
Satan  takes  Him  up  to  a  high  mountain  and 
shows  Him  the  whole  world,  the  glory  of  it, 
with  a  very  quick  panoramic  view.  It  is  not 
an  impossible  thing  to  do  in  that  country,  for 
Moses  from  one  of  those  neighbouring  moun- 
tain tops  saw  the  whole  land.     So  Satan  comes 


How  the  Tempter  Is  Defeated      147 

to  Him  with  a  swift  world  view.  He  thought 
he  would  sweep  the  Master  off  His  feet.  Again 
this  is  one  of  his  favourite  methods. 

A  great  many  people  have  met  the  first  tempta- 
tion and  resisted;  and  the  second  and  resisted; 
and  have  been  swept  off  their  feet  by  the  dazzling 
view  of  the  third.  I  think  it  is  pathetic  to  the 
point  of  weeping  to  find  how  one  leader  after 
another  in  Christian  service  has  been  swept  off 
his  feet  by  a  dazzling  view  of  the  kingdom  of 
this  world,  and  been  set  aside  as  no  longer  use- 
able by  the  Father.  It  was  the  temptation  of 
the  Church  in  Constantine's  time,  and  some  of 
us  think  the  Church  has  never  recovered  from 
that  temptation  of  the  fourth  century. 

There  is  a  real  temptation  here,  an  inner  re- 
sponse. Man  was  given  the  dominion  of  all  the 
world;  that  belongs  to  us.  And  our  Lord  Jesus 
was  come  down  to  restore  that  dominion.  Here 
is  the  point  of  inner  response.  Somebody  might 
say,  "  Did  Satan  really  think  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  would  do  such  a  thing  as  fall  down  and 
worship  him  ?  "  At  first  flush  you  might  say, 
"  No,  surely  he  could  not  think  that."  But  the 
more  you  think  into  it,  the  more  you  see  that 
his  proposition  is  this :  "  Let  us  make  a  com- 
bination. You  tie  up  with  me.  Of  course  God 
is  over  all,  and  you  will  have  the  dominion  of 
the  world,  which  is  your  right.  Let  us  com- 
bine."    It  is  a  favourite  word  of  his — "  com- 


148     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

bination."  It  has  slipped  many  a  man  off  his 
feet  who  has  given  in  a  bit  to  the  devil,  work- 
ing under  cover,  that  he  might  have  the  domin- 
ion over  the  kingdom.  I  sometimes  think  it 
has  led  more,  far  more,  Christian  leaders  off 
their  feet  than  have  been  able  to  withstand  its 
dazzling  lure. 

The  answer  was,  ''  Get  thee  hence."  That  is 
a  bit  that  I  like.  "  Leave!  "  Don't  ask  him  to 
go;  tell  him  to  go.  And  the  marvellous  thing  is 
this,  he  obeyed. 

And  just  one  word  as  we  close  our  talk  to- 
gether. What  did  our  Lord  Jesus  mean  in  the 
prayer  He  gave  us  to  use  when  He  taught  us 
to  say,  "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation  "  ?  It  has 
puzzled  a  good  many  to  know  just  what  that 
means.  Would  God  lead  a  man  into  temptation  ? 
What  does  that  mean?  There  are  three  or  four 
interpretations,  and  each  has  some  shade  of 
truth.  But  I  keep  swinging  back  to  this:  this  is 
what  the  Master  meant,  "  Yon  cannot  stand 
being  tempted  alone.  You  alone  cannot  stand 
temptation.  I  know;  I  have  been  there;  I  have 
been  there  forty  days.  I  know  temptation  as  no 
other  man  knows  it,  in  its  storm,  in  its  subtlety, 
in  its  persistence."  And  now  He  says,  "  The 
thing  for  you  to  do  is  this.  I  have  gotten  the 
victory.  You  pray,  *  Lead  me  not  into  tempta- 
tion, but  help  me  in  fighting,  help  me  to  live 
under  the  shadow  of  Thy  victory.' " 


How  the  Tempter  is  Defeated      149 

You  cannot  meet  temptation  alone.  You  are 
no  match  for  the  evil  one.  There  is  not  one  of 
us  here  who  is  any  match  for  him.  It  is  only 
as  we  come  up  close  to  our  Lord  Jesus,  under 
the  shadow  of  His  Cross,  that  we  get  victory. 
But  we  can  get  it  there.  Let  us  remember  that 
Revelation  word,"  "  They  overcame  him  on  the 
ground  of  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  the  word 
of  their  testimony  "  carried  to  the  point  of  a 
sacrificial  life.  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  help 
us  to  live  in  the  strength  of  His  victory. 

^Revelation  xii.  11. 


IV.— THE  SECRET  OF  VICTORY 


IN  THE  VICTOR 

The  Tempter  afraid  of  Jesus. 

Fear  is  the  beginning  of  defeat.  I  do  not 
mean  the  fear  of  reverence,  but  fear  that  is 
afraid.  Of  course  defeat  is  a  fighting  word.  It 
means  that  the  enemy  has  been  recognized  and 
resisted.  There  are  persons  who  do  not  know 
fear  because  they  don't  recognize  the  enemy,  and 
don't  oppose  him.  They  move  smoothly  along 
the  lines  of  least  resistance  regardless  of  moral 
issues.  The  absence  of  a  sense  of  fear  there 
simply  tells  of  cowardice  or  childishness.  But 
where  the  fight  is  on,  and  blows  being  ex- 
changed, there  fear  is  a  sure  element  of  defeat. 

It  recognizes  and  realizes  that  some  one 
greater  and  stronger  is  actively  opposing,  and 
that  makes  it  shrink  and  tremble.  A  false  fear 
thinks  the  enemy  is  stronger.  Real  fear  knows 
it.  Fear  sucks  the  spirit  out  of  one's  fighting, 
it  takes  the  nerve  out  of  one's  courage,  and  the 
vim  and  zest  out  of  one's  action.  Fear  is  the 
beginning  of  defeat. 

Now  the  tempter  knows  fear.  That  is  a  fact 
of  great  comfort  for  us.  And  the  fear  he  knows 
is  not  a  false  one;  it  is  founded  on  fact  and 
153 


154     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

experience.  He  has  met  One  greater  and 
stronger  than  himself.  The  two  have  measured 
strength  in  a  long  and  bitterly  waged  contest. 
And  he  knows  the  bitter  sting  of  defeat.  That 
defeat  taught  him  fear.  He  is  afraid  of  his 
Victor.  He  knows  what  it  means  to  be  thwarted 
and  resisted,  beaten  back  steadily,  and  defeated 
clear  off  the  fighting  ground.  There  has  been 
a  man  upon  the  earth  of  whom  Satan  is  afraid, 
whom  he  can  neither  touch  nor  resist — that  man 
is  Christ  Jesus. 

Satan  is  afraid  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  He  learned 
to  fear  Him  in  Nazareth  early  in  the  fight.  In 
the  Wilderness  fear  became  a  real  force  in  his 
life,  weakening,  dispiriting,  and  even  terrifying 
him.  That  Wilderness  siege  of  temptation  was 
as  carefully  planned  out  as  it  could  be.  It  began 
on  Satan's  part  with  eagerness  mingled  with 
fear.  There  was  eagerness  because  everything 
the  tempter  prized  and  wanted  was  at  stake. 
There  was  fear  because  of  his  previous  deal- 
ings with  our  Master  during  those  Nazareth 
years.  Though  the  Wilderness  temptation  be- 
gan with  eagerness  and  fear,  it  ended  with  rage 
and  a  fearsome  terror,  because  this  new  Man, 
Jesus,  was  so  strongly  steady  in  His  obedience 
to  the  Father.  Satan  was  having  a  new  expe- 
rience. There  was  something  new  and  strange 
and  terrifying  to  him  in  this  quiet,  steady,  obe- 
dient Man,  who  knew  only  Another's  plan  for 


In  the  Victor  155 

His  life.     The  tempter  became  afraid  of  Jesus, 
and  is  afraid  of  Him. 


The  Tempter  couldn't  touch  Jesus. 

The  tempter  could  not  touch  Jesus.  He 
tempted  Him  at  every  turn,  but  he  could  make 
no  impression.  His  sword  only  dulled  and 
nicked  and  bent  against  the  rock  of  Jesus'  steady 
obedience.  He  attacked  in  every  conceivable 
way,  and  at  every  possible  opening,  but  his  at- 
tacks failed.  The  person  of  our  Lord  was  the 
bright  centre  attracting  the  keenest  shafts  the 
enemy  could  hurl.  But  His  person  never  was 
touched  until  the  hour  came  when  Jesus  chose 
to  yield.  The  Nazareth  precipice,  the  Jerusalem 
stones,  the  storm  on  Galilee's  blue  waters  whose 
unusual  violence  frightened  those  old  storm- 
beaten  sailors — each  in  turn  failed  to  touch  the 
person  of  Jesus.  There  was  absolutely  no  way 
of  getting  within  to  attack.  And  all  outer  at- 
tacks failed  until  Jesus  chose — for  a  great  pur- 
pose, as  counselled  and  foreknown  *  by  the  Fa- 
ther— to  yield  up  His  person  and  His  life.  The 
tempter  could  not  touch  Him,  and  failed  in 
every  attempt. 

And  more  striking  yet,  the  tempter  could  not 
resist  Jesus.  Jesus  did  not  act  on  the  defensive 
merely.  He  was  aggressive.  He  attacked  Sa- 
*Acts  ii.  23. 


156     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

tan.  His  very  presence  here  was  a  challenge 
and  an  attack.  Every  demon  cast  out,  every 
disease  healed,  every  advancing  step  on  His  on- 
ward way,  every  hour  spent  in  public  ministry, 
every  personal  interview  with  a  cultured  Nico- 
demus,  or  a  Sychar  outcast,  was  an  attack  on 
the  enemy's  stronghold.  Each  bit  of  steady, 
faithful  obedience  to  the  Father,  each  touch  of 
gentle  love  upon  human  life,  each  warm,  sym- 
pathetic approach  to  needy  men,  each  humble, 
self-forgetful  giving  of  Himself  out  in  glad  serv- 
ice for  others — each  was  an  aggressive  attack 
upon  the  "  strong  man,"  whom  He  Tiad  come  to 
rout  out  of  his  usurped  territory. 

And  the  tempter  could  not  resist  these  at- 
tacks. He  was  defeated  at  every  turn.  Satan 
is  afraid  of  Jesus  our  Lord.  And  well  he  may 
be.  There  has  been  a  man  down  on  the  earth 
of  whom  Satan  was  afraid,  whom  no  attack  of 
his  could  touch,  and  whose  attacks  in  turn  he 
could  not  resist,  try  as  he  would. 

Why  was  the  tempter  afraid  of  Jesus?  Why 
is  he  afraid  of  Him?  Aside  from  this  experi- 
ence with  our  Lord,  he  has  not  been  in  the 
habit  of  showing  fear.  The  general  impression 
he  has  given  has  been  one  of  boldness,  of  a  dar- 
ing, fearless  driving  on.  What  is  the  explana- 
tion of  this  fear?  Why  was  our  Lord  Jesus  able 
to  resist  his  temptations  and  attacks  so  unfail- 
ingly, and  then  to  completely  turn  the  tables  and 


In  the  Victor  157 

make  this  great  spirit-being  actually  flee,  terror- 
stricken,  before  His  attacks? 

It  seems  almost  like  a  useless  question,  be- 
cause the  great  strength  of  our  divine  Victor, 
and  the  sweeping  character  of  His  victory  have 
been  so  acknowledged  and  embalmed  in  the 
hymns  and  literature  of  the  Church.  Yet  there 
is  no  question  better  worth  asking  just  here.  For 
the  answer  will  make  us  sing  the  praises  of  our 
wondrous  Jesus-Saviour  with  all  the  more  fer- 
vour of  heart.  And  it  will  do  more  than  that, 
too.  It  shows  us  the  path  of  victory  along  which 
we  must  walk  if  we  would  know  the  power  of 
His  victory  in  our  daily  lives. 

No  Sin. 


There  are  five  things  to  be  noted  in  the  an- 
swer. Two  of  them  are  negative  things,  but  of 
immeasurable  positiveness  in  their  very  negative- 
ness.  The  other  things  are  positive  in  form  as 
well  as  in  fact. 

The  first  thing  to  note  is  this:  there  was  no 
sin  in  Jesus.  It  tried  to  get  in.  Most  careful 
search  was  made  for  any  crevice  or  crack  of 
an  opening  however  slight,  through  which  sin 
could  find  an  entrance.  But  no  entrance  was 
ever  found.  He  was  sinless.  He  Himself  chal- 
lenged His  foes  to  find  any  sin  in  Him/  That 
*John  viii.  46. 


158     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

was  a  daring  thing  to  do.  It  was  the  daring  of 
purity  and  of  truth.  Certainly  if  there  had  been 
sin  or  fault  these  were  the  very  men  to  have 
found  it,  and  ruthlessly  held  it  up  to  the  stron- 
gest light.  By  consent  of  all  who  had  to  do  with 
Him  during  the  hours  of  His  trial  and  death,  He 
was  free  from  sin  so  far  as  could  be  discerned. 
The  agreement  among  doubters  and  critical 
sceptics  regarding  the  perfection  of  His  charac- 
ter is  most  striking. 

I  am  speaking  wholly  now  of  the  practical 
side  of  this  fact.  Leaving  aside  all  discussion 
just  now  of  the  nature  of  our  Lord's  person, 
and  of  the  theoretical  possibility  of  His  sinning 
— this  is  the  bit  of  truth  which  I  want  to  em- 
phasize now :  Jesus  was  sinless  because  He  chose 
to  be.  He  refused  to  sin.  He  resisted  earnestly 
and  actively  and  prayerfully  every  temptation  to 
sin. 

Practically  sin  is  entirely  a  matter  of  the  will. 
It  is  an  act  of  choosing.  Our  Lord  chose  to 
keep  sin  out.  He  had  the  immense  advantage  of 
having  no  inheritance  of  sin  to  weaken  Him. 
Against  the  most  cunning  and  insidious  attempts, 
He  deliberately  and  habitually  chose  not  to  sin. 
It  cost  Him  effort.  It  meant  active  choosing  on 
His  part,  a  constant  choosing.  It  meant  as  great 
a  use  of  will  power  as  ever  human  made.  He 
was  obliged  to  choose.  All  about  Him,  the  pres- 
ence   of    sin    and    temptation    forced    Him    to 


In  the  Victor  159 

choose.     His  sinlessness  practically  consisted  in 
this,  that  He  chose  not  to  sin. 


A  New  Experience  for  the  Tempter. 

This  was  something  new  to  the  tempter, 
strangely  new.  It  was  perplexing  and  non- 
plussing. He  had  had  no  such  experience  all 
through  his  long  career  of  tempting.  Only  once 
had  he  met  a  couple  who  had  no  sin  inheritance 
to  trouble  them.  And  by  a  bit  of  cunning  they 
had  been  deceived  and  were  quickly  ensnared. 
That  was  long,  long  before.  This  man  with  His 
steady  purpose  to  please  the  Father,  this  Jesus 
was  utterly  disconcerting.  The  tempter  could 
do  nothing  against  such  a  man. 

This  sinlessness,  both  in  will  and  in  act,  in 
purpose  and  in  life,  was  the  basis  of  our  Lord's 
victory.  It  was  the  basis  of  Satan's  defeat.  He 
feared  such  a  Man.  He  could  not  touch  Him. 
He  could  not  resist  Him.  It  was  this  that  gave 
and  gives  such  value  to  Jesus'  death  on  our  be- 
half. It  was  a  sinless  life  that  was  poured  out 
to  the  very  death  on  Calvary.  This  very  fact 
made  His  death  zvkolly  on  account  of  others. 
Of  Himself  Jesus  would  never  have  died.  For 
death  is  the  logical  outcome  of  sin.  Where 
there  is  no  sin,  either  by  entail  or  act,  there  is 
no  death.  The  purity  and  obedience,  the  per- 
fection and  sinlessness  of  the  Man  who  died. 


i6o     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

gave  the  great  value  to  that  death.  Of  very 
necessity  it  was  for  others.  Here  is  the  ground- 
work of  the  stinging  defeat  administered  to  the 
tempter  by  our  Lord. 

It  was  the  sinlessness  of  this  Man  who  gave 
up  His  life  that  made  His  death  such  a  satis- 
fying forever  of  the  righteousness  of  God.  It 
was  the  utter  lack  of  all  claim  upon  Jesus  by 
Satan,  that  made  His  death  settle  forever  so 
utterly  all  of  Satan's  claim  against  us  sinners. 
Herein  was  shown  the  wondrous  love  that  melts 
the  stubbornness  of  the  human  heart  into  peni- 
tent softness.  Jesus  need  not  have  suffered  and 
died  as  He  did  unless  He  chose  to.  But  He 
made  that  choice  for  our  sakes.  It  was  His  love 
that  led  Him  to  that  choice.  This  deliberate, 
determined  keeping  of  sin  out  was  the  basis  of 
the  tempter's  defeat. 

Sin  is  Satan's  doorway  into  a  human  life. 
Wherever  there  is  sin  there  is  a  wide  open  door 
to  him.  Where  there  is  no  sin,  as  with  our 
Lord,  there  is  no  opportunity  of  getting  in.  Sin 
is  Satan's  only  doorway  in.  Sin  is  Satan's 
stronghold.  It  gives  him  footing  for  his  fight- 
ing. It  gives  him  atmosphere.  No  sin  means 
no  chance  for  Satan  to  work.  Absence  of  sin 
cuts  the  very  ground  out  from  under  his  feet, 
I  am  talking  about  our  Lord's  sinlessness  just 
now.  But  we  shall  see  a  little  later  the  prac- 
tical power  of  this  tremendous  fact  in  our  own 


In  the  Victor  i6i 

lives.     In  thus  refusing  to  let  sin  in  Jesus  was 
utterly  neutralizing  Satan's  power. 


No  Self. 


The  second  thing  in  Satan's  defeat  by  our 
Lord  is  this:  there  was  no  self-seeking  in  Jesus. 
That  is  included,  of  course,  in  saying  that  there 
was  no  sin ;  for  sin  at  its  core  is  self-seeking, 
that  is,  preferring  one's  own  way  to  God's.  Now 
Jesus  was  wholly  unselfish;  there  was  none  of 
the  self-spirit  in  Him. 

We  ought  to  take  a  moment  to  talk  of  just 
what  that  means.  It  does  not  mean  a  careless- 
ness or  a  thoughtlessness  about  the  needs  of  His 
bodily  life.  It  is  not  selfish  to  care  properly 
for  one's  health  and  strength,  in  the  matters  of 
food  and  sleep,  air  and  exercise,  and  needful 
dress.  One  can  easily  go  to  a  selfish  excess  in 
these  things,  and  that  is  very  common.  That 
temptation  is  always  at  hand.  And  one  can  go 
to  the  other  extreme  of  not  giving  thought  and 
care  enough  to  these  things. 

And  if  you  will  note  it,  this  is  just  as  selfish 
as  the  other  extreme,  though  it  is  a  sort  of 
thoughtless,  unconscious,  unintentional  selfish- 
ness. It  is  selfish  because  it  is  very  sure  to  lead 
to  conditions  that  will  make  one  a  charge  upon 
or  a  care  to  somebody  else.  And  at  the  same 
time  we  are  not  able  to  do  for  others  what  they 


1 62     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

need.  Whatever  makes  one  weaker  in  any  way, 
which  by  due  care  and  thought  could  have 
been  avoided,  has  the  taint  of  selfishness  at  its 
root. 

Our  Lord's  unselfishness,  undoubtedly,  would 
be  the  genuine,  thoughtful  sort  that  made  Him 
take  proper  care  of  His  bodily  needs  and 
strength  for  other's  sake,  as  well  as  because  it 
was  right  in  itself.  And  in  this  He  gives  an 
example  that  many  earnest  godly  people  need 
to  take  note  of  and  follow. 

And  His  lack  of  the  self-spirit  does  not  mean 
the  ignoring  of  His  personal  identity,  or  of  the 
great  service  entrusted  to  Him.  He  continu- 
ally asserted  His  personal  identity,  telling  plainly 
who  He  was,  and  why  He  had  come,  and  that 
He  was  sent  by  the  Father  for  a  great  mission 
among  men. 

What  is  Unselfishness? 

His  unselfishness  meant  simply  this,  that  He 
lived  for  the  Father,  and  for  others,  not  for 
Himself.  The  passion  of  His  life  was  for  His 
Father.  Selfishness  at  its  core  means  that  the 
passion  is  for  one's  self.  The  passion  of  Sa- 
tan's heart  is  wholly  and  only  for  himself.  Un- 
selfishness is  the  strong  thoughtful  giving  of 
one's  self  out  in  doing  the  Father's  will  in  glad 
service  among  men. 


In  the  Victor  163 

Selfishness  is  a  passion  for  self;  unselfishness, 
or  selflessness,  is  a  passion  for  God,  and  that 
always  means  for  others  in  their  need.  The 
streams  of  life  naturally  turn  out.  Wherever 
Satan  has  been  able  to  control  or  influence  with 
His  subtle  cunning,  those  streams  all  turn  in. 
And  wherever  the  streams  all  turn  in  there  is  a 
Dead  Sea.  Many  a  man's  life,  many  a  so-called 
Christian  man's  life,  is  simply  the  coast-line  of 
a  Dead  Sea.  We  ought  to  be  studying  more 
carefully  the  direction  of  the  current  of  that 
stream,  I  mean  the  under-current. 

Jesus  was  swept  by  a  passion  for  Another. 
He  was  utterly  unselfish,  selfless  in  this  strong, 
good  meaning.  And,  if  you  will  please  note  very 
sharply.  He  was  so  because  He  chose  to  be. 
The  air  about  Him  was  thick  with  temptations 
luring  the  other  way.  He  had  to  choose,  and, 
very  reverently  let  me  say,  that  that  choice  was 
not  easy.  It  took  a  real,  positive,  continual  ac- 
tion by  His  will. 

The  self -life  came  to  Jesus  in  very  subtle 
guise.  The  temptation  to  self-assertion  for  His 
own  sake  came  to  Him  incessantly  throughout 
that  humble  Nazareth  life  clear  up  to  the  tragic 
end  of  Calvary's  ninth  hour.  But  neither  self- 
pity  nor  misunderstandings  of  His  purpose  by 
others,  nor  the  pleadings  of  mistaken  love,  as 
when  His  mother  seems  to  have  sought — not 
realizing  what  she  did — to  use  her  influence  with 


164    Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Him,  none  of  these  swerved  Him.  He  chose  to 
keep  all  considerations  of  self  severely  out. 

In  this  He  was  simply  being  true  to  the  deci- 
sion that  sin  should  find  no  entrance.  And  in 
this  He  was  defeating  Satan.  Self-seeking  is 
the  inner  heart  of  the  Satan-spirit.  It  gives  him 
footing  and  freedom.  The  absence  of  the  self- 
seeking  spirit  was  a  complete  under-cutting  of 
Satan.  In  that  He  emphasized  His  own  victory, 
and  Satan's  defeat.  Every  advancing  hour  of 
His  life  made  greater  that  victory,  and  that  de- 
feat, until  the  great  climax  at  Calvary. 

These  are  the  two  tremendous  negatives  in 
Jesus'  human  character  that  underlie  the  great 
victory.  And  no  words  could  ever  tell  how  much 
of  strong  choosing  power  was  called  forth  by 
these  two  negatives — no  sin,  no  self. 

Obedience. 


Then  there  are  three  positive  traits  underlying 
that  defeat  and  victory.  The  first  of  these  is 
obedience.  Jesus  was  obedient.  I  have  already 
spoken  of  this,  and  emphasized  it.  It  cannot  be 
spoken  of  too  often,  or  two  much.  It  is  a  truth 
practically  lost  by  the  Church  that  obedience  is 
the  first  law  of  the  true  life.  There  has  been 
much  service,  but  little  obedience,  propor- 
tionately. 

There  may  be  much  of  self,  of  pride,  of  mere 


In  the  Victor  165 

human  energy  in  service,  and  there  is.  Obedi- 
ence may  be  humiliating,  and  painful;  quite 
likely.  It  may  lead  to  misunderstanding  of  one's 
motives,  to  a  not-understanding,  and  so  to  non- 
appreciation,  and  to  all  that  goes  with  that.  But 
obedience,  simple,  full,  glad,  is  the  great  law 
of  life.  Service  counts  only  as  it  grows  out  of 
obedience. 

Jesus  obeyed  fully,  perfectly,  musically.  It 
was  the  joy  of  His  heart  and  life  to  obey  His 
Father.  The  commonplaceness  of  Nazareth 
mattered  not  if  only  the  Father's  voice  said  "  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased."  The  sharpness  of 
the  Wilderness  conflict,  the  daily  duelling  with 
Jerusalem  leaders,  the  agony  of  Gethsemane, 
the  awful  experience  of  Calvary,  were  gladly 
accepted  and  even  rejoiced  in,  for  they  came  in 
the  path  of  obedience  to  the  Father's  will. 

His  obedience  was  intelligent  and  full.  And 
the  keenness  of  that  remarkable  intellect  of  His 
— I  am  speaking  of  Him  just  now  as  a  man,  all 
the  strength  of  His  tremendous  will,  all  the  love 
of  His  great  heart,  were  brought  to  bear  on 
this — obedience  to  the  Father's  will. 

That  implies  several  things  underlying  the 
obedience.  It  meant  a  trained  ear;  an  ear 
trained  by  listening,  trained  by  study  of  the 
Old  Testament  Scripture,  trained  by  prayer,  yes, 
trained  by  obedience;  for  disobedience,  failure 
to  obey,  dulls  and  deafens  the  ear.     It  meant 


1 66     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

study  of  the  Word  of  God.  So  there  came  to 
be  the  clear  understanding  of  the  Father's  plan. 
It  meant  a  discerning  mind,  a  simple,  sane  sense. 
Don't  forget  the  perfect  humanness  of  our  di- 
vine Lord.  He  learned  His  Father's  will  as  we 
may  learn  it — by  studying  the  Word.  He  was 
wondrously  familiar  with  the  old  Hebrew  rolls. 
He  was  saturated,  not  simply  with  their  teach- 
ing, but  with  their  very  language.  Indeed  He 
talked  in  the  words  of  the  Bible.  It  is  remark- 
able how  far  His  talks  can  be  reproduced  out 
of  the  Old  Testament.     He  knew  it  by  heart. 

Yet  remember  that  knowledge  came  to  Him 
in  the  same  way  as  to  any  man — namely,  by 
study,  by  repeated  examination  of,  and  poring 
over,  and  meditation  over,  and  praying  over, 
the  old  Hebrew  rolls,  to  which  He  had  access 
in  Nazareth.  That  carpenter  shop  was  a  study 
shop,  too.  And  that  obedience  meant  prayer  too. 
Through  prayer  there  came  the  intelligent  un- 
derstanding of  the  Word  of  God.  Through 
prayer  there  came  the  grace  that  enabled  Him 
to  obey. 

Obedience  never  so  hard. 


And  obedience  meant  a  choosing  to  obey. 
There  was  not  simply  the  general  choice  to  obey. 
But  as  the  Father's  plan  grew  in  His  conscious- 
ness bit  by  bit.  He  chose  to  obey  at  each  ad- 


In  the  Victor  167 

vancing  step.  As  He  drew  on  nearer,  step  by 
step,  to  Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  as  there  came 
in  upon  Him  with  terrible  realness  just  what 
obedience  meant,  of  pain  and  shame,  He  chose 
to  obey.  Herein  lay  the  strange  power  of  His 
obedience  in  defeating  the  evil  one;  He  chose 
to  obey.  His  obedience  was  the  result  of  his 
calm  repeated  choice. 

Obedience  was  the  touchstone  of  all  His  hu- 
man career.  He  lived  that  humble  shut-away 
Nazareth  life,  with  its  daily  round  of  carpenter 
shop,  narrow  home,  intercourse  with  men  who 
did  not  understand  Him — He  lived  so  because 
so  the  Father  planned.  And  He  obeyed.  The 
feeding  of  the  hungry  five  thousand,  the  raising 
of  Jairus'  daughter,  and  the  raising  of  Lazarus, 
were  not  greater  to  Him  than  the  Nazareth 
round.  All  came  to  Him  in  the  pathway 
of  obedience.  The  underlying  principle  was 
obedience. 

Yet  obedience  was  never  made  so  hard.  The 
tempter  attended  to  that.  Obedience  never 
meant  so  much  pain  and  shame.  The  tempter 
planted  that  path  with  thorns,  and  planted  all 
the  cruelty  of  a  cross  directly  in  its  middle.  And 
obedience  was  never  so  joyously  given.  Jesus 
made  music  by  His  obedience.  Obedience  is 
the  rhythmic  melody  of  a  human  will  keeping 
tune  with  God's.  No  sweeter  music  is  ever 
made. 


1 68     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Obedience  took  Jesus  up  the  hill  of  the  Cross. 
It  drew  from  Him  the  life-blood  that  washed  out 
the  blot  made  by  sin  on  the  righteousness  of 
God,  and  that  redeemed  us  'forever  from  its 
curse.  He  obeyed  though  His  heart  broke  in 
doing  it;  and  so  He  has  broken  our  hearts  with 
His  unmatched  love.  Obedience !  Obedience ! ! 
This  was  the  one  gripping  purpose  of  His  life. 
In  this  he  ran  exactly  counter  to  the  evil  one 
whose  dominant  trait  is  his  disobedience.  In 
his  obedience  Jesus  foiled  and  defeated  the 
enemy  at  every  turn  till  the  climax  of  Calvary 
was  reached. 

Fearlessness. 


Now  out  of  these  very  traits  of  our  Lord's 
character  grew  another  trait  which  was  of  im- 
mense power  in  the  victory  over  the  evil  one. 
I  mean  the  trait  of  fearlessness.  Jesus  was  ut- 
terly fearless. 

Fear  is  bred  of  sin.  It  is  as  common  as  sin. 
Its  influence  upon  our  lives  is  immense,  clear 
beyond  all  our  conception.  It  cripples  our 
bodies,  dulls  our  minds,  stupefies  our  power  of 
action,  and  is  a  continual  drag  upon  our  lives. 
If  we  could  be  wholly  free  of  any  and  every 
sense  of  fear  we  would  have  new  bodies,  new 
minds,  new  spirits,  new  faith,  new  courage,  and 
new  power.  The  chains  of  this  slavery  wrought 
by  sin  are  never  out  of  sight,  nor  out  of  earshot. 


In  the  Victor  169 

In  being  wholly  free  from  sin  our  Lord  was 
wholly  free  from  all  sense  of  fear.  This  very 
fearlessness  made  Satan  fear  Him.  It  lead  him 
boldly  on  where  he  felt  he  should  go,  utterly 
regardless  of  circumstances  and  of  consequences. 
Once  the  way  of  obedience,  and  of  service  in 
obedience,  was  clear  to  Him,  He  went  straight 
ahead  regardless  of  difficulties.  This  greatly  in- 
tensified His  victory  over  the  evil  one.  It  aided 
greatly  in  the  crippling  of  the  evil  one's  attacks 
upon  Him. 

The  tempter  plays  upon  our  sense  of  fear  to 
an  extent  that  is  nothing  short  of  startling.  The 
fear  of  being  in  personal  want  is  to-day  holding 
back  millions  of  gold,  that,  if  loosened  out  as 
God  planned,  would  utterly  change  the  condition 
of  the  whole  heathen  world,  and  actually  move 
forward  the  date  upon  the  calendar  when  our 
Lord  will  return  to  set  up  Kingdom  conditions 
over  all  the  earth.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
nine-tenths  of  all  our  action  is  controlled  by 
this  wrong,  slavish,  sin-bred  sense  of  fear. 

In  His  utter  absence  of  all  sense  of  fear,  and 
with  the  simple,  unquestioning  faith  in  His  Fa- 
ther that  would  go  with  that,  our  Lord  was 
defeating  the  tempter,  and  treading  down  smooth 
the  path  of  victory  for  our  feet. 


170     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Aggressiveness  of  Love, 

The  fifth  trait  also  grew  up  out  of  the  first 
three.  Our  Lord  was  aggressive.  He  pushed 
steadily,  aggressively  on  in  the  way  marked  out 
for  Him.  Fear  is  cowardly.  Faith  is  aggres- 
sive ;  it  finds  the  right  path  and  then  its  onward 
steady  moving  can't  be  stopped.  Purity  is  ag- 
gressive. The  unselfish  passion  for  God  has  a 
strange  power  of  aggressiveness.  Love  is  ag- 
gressive. Goodness  is  aggressive.  Fearlessness 
is  always  on  the  move  forward  when  the  need 
calls. 

Jesus'  aggressiveness  was  tremendous.  His 
mere  presence  here  showed  His  aggressiveness. 
Here,  where  sin  reigned,  and  death  and  misery 
and  suffering  through  sin,  here  He  came.  Down 
into  the  very  thick  of  Satan's  sphere  of  action 
He  deliberately  came  with  His  sweet  purity  and 
obedience.  Into  the  midst  of  demon-possessed 
and  diseased  men,  into  the  midst  of  prejudice 
and  superstition  and  cruelty  that  sin  has  bred, 
He  quietly  came,  and  by  His  very  presence  at- 
tacked all  of  this  work  of  Satan's  hands. 

Every  added  hour  of  that  life  of  purity  was 
a  hard  aggressive  attack  upon  the  evil  one. 
Every  beating  of  His  great  heart  in  compassion- 
ate love  for  the  multitude  scattered  like  torn 
sheep,  made  aggressive  inroad  on  the  tempter's 
domain.     We  think  that  sin  is  aggressive,  and 


In  the  Victor  171 

it  is.  But  it  can't  compare  with  the  steady  ag- 
gressive energy  of  goodness  and  love.  The 
tempter  seems  to  be  all  aggressiveness,  of  a  very 
tenacious,  persistent  sort,  especially  if  you  are 
trying  to  get  away  from  him.  But  our  Lord 
Jesus  was  aggressive  in  a  way  that  made  a  new 
record. 

Now  dig  down  under  those  five  words — sin- 
lessness,  unselfishness,  obedience,  fearlessness, 
and  aggressiveness — and  you  will  quickly  find 
the  consonants  and  vowels  that  spell  the  one 
word — love.  God  is  love.  Jesus  revealed  His 
deity  in  the  love  which  He  lived.  Only  the  word 
takes  on  a  new  meaning,  or  rather  reveals  its 
own  true  meaning,  as  He  lived  it.  Love  is  pure. 
Love  is  utter  unselfishness.  Love  is  obedient — 
"  he  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me."  ^  Love  is  fear- 
less— "  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear."  '  Love 
is  aggressive — "  the  love  of  Christ "  *  is  an  irre- 
sistible, constraining  force  driving  us  ever  on- 
ward to  meet  the  needs  of  men. 

It  was  love  as  incarnated  in  Jesus  that  de- 
feated the  prince  of  hate.  This  is  the  secret 
of  victory,  love,  as  its  meaning  is  revealed  by 
Jesus.  In  all  of  this  our  Lord  defeated  the 
enemy.  He  was  cutting  the  ground  out  from 
under  the  enemy's  feet.  Such  a  life  completely 
neutralized  the  tempter.     In  what  He  was,  and 

*John  xiv.  21.       'i  John  iv.  18.       "2  Cor.  v.  14. 


172     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

in  what  He  did,  our  Lord  defeated  the  evil  one 
at  every  turn,  and  left  him  no  possible  chance 
of  recovery. 

Calvary  was  the  climax.  The  death  was  the 
climax  of  the  life.  It  gathered  up  into  itself 
all  the  meaning  of  the  life.  It  was  the  crown- 
ing act  of  the  defeat  administered  to  the  traitor 
prince,  and  of  the  victory  won  on  our  behalf. 
There  the  sinless  one  was  made  sin  for  us.  In 
that  He  forever  defeated  the  prince  of  sin,  and 
settled  His  claim  upon  us.  The  Cross  was  the 
greatest  act  of  unselfishness  ever  done.  And  in 
that  fact  lies  the  defeat  of  the  selfish  one.  The 
obedience  of  our  Lord's  life  reached  its  highest 
and  finest  point  when  He  poured  out  His  life- 
blood  with  such  shame  and  pain.  "  He  was 
obedient  unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the 
cross."  ^  In  that  obedience,  carried  to  the 
farthest  possible  point  against  the  extreme  of 
difficulties.  He  defeated  the  disobedient  prince. 
And  he  fearlessly  and  aggressively  pushed  His 
victorious  way  through  until  the  great  work  of 
our  redemption  was  completely  finished.  This 
is  the  secret  of  our  Lord's  sweeping  victory  over 
the  tempter. 

*Philippians  ii.  8. 


FOR   THE   OVERCOMERS 

A  Call  out  of  the  Glory. 

Our  Master  has  spoken  once  since  He  left 
that  group  of  men,  with  up-turned  faces,  on 
OHvet's  top.  Out  from  the  glory,  His  voice 
comes  to  us  clearly  in  John's  Revelation.  That 
little  closing  book  of  the  Bible  begins  with  the 
Master's  seven-fold  message  to  His  Church.^ 
Each  part  of  that  message  begins  with  a  de- 
scription of  Himself ;  then  He  speaks  clearly  and 
plainly  of  what  the  Church  looks  like  to  His 
searching  eye ;  and  then  each  ends  with  the  ring- 
ing cry,  "  to  him  that  overcometh." 

Down  from  the  glory  comes  this  earnest 
pleading  call  to  us  to  take  up  the  fight  which 
He  began,  and  to  carry  it  to  a  finish  in  the  power 
of  His  victory.  That  seven-times  repeated  "  to 
— him — that — overcometh  "  tells  that  the  con- 
flict is  still  on,  that  each  man  must  settle  it  for 
himself,  that  each  of  us  must  overcome  or  be 
overcome,  and  that  we  may  overcome  if  we  will, 
but  it  will  only  be  through  fighting,  and  real 
fighting  too. 

Our  Lord  got  the  victory;  He  got  it  only 
*  Revelation  ii.,  iii. 
173 


174     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

through  fighting  for  it.  He  means  that  each  of 
us  shall  get  the  victory  also.  We  can  get  it 
if  we  will.  We  get  it  through  His  victory.  We 
stand  no  chance  at  all  save  as  we  go  in  the 
power  of  what  He  has  done.  But  even  so  we 
get  it  only  through  our  own  fighting  for  it.  We 
must  fight  if  we  would  win.  There  is  no  other 
way. 

We  must  fight  in  the  strength  of  His  victory. 
And  each  of  us  must  fight  as  really  as  though 
the  conflict  had  not  already  been  decided  by 
Him.  Only  as  we  fight  can  we  know  victory. 
If  we  don't  overcome,  we  shall  be  overcome.  If 
we  don't  actively  push  the  fighting,  we  shall  be 
pushed  over  into  defeat. 

Our  Lord  plans  that  we  shall  follow  in  the 
victory  He  has  won.  Each  of  us  is  to  be  an 
overcomer.  In  the  upper  room  that  Resurrec- 
tion evening  He  said,  "  As  the  Father  hath  sent 
me,  even  so  send  I  you."  ^  We  are  to  be  as 
He — the  same  life  to  live,  the  same  earth  to  live 
on,  the  same  earnest  service  to  do,  the  same 
enemy  to  fight,  and  by  His  grace  the  same  vic- 
tory to  achieve.  We  are  to  be  the  same  sort 
of  man  as  He,  one  of  whom  Satan  is  afraid, 
whom  he  can  neither  touch  nor  resist. 
*John  XX.  21, 


For  the  Overcomers  175 

"  Follow  Mer 


The  practical  question  is,  How  can  you  and 
I  be  that  sort  of  a  man?  Well,  the  Master  has 
shown  us  the  secret  of  victory.  We  are  to  be 
as  He.  Let  us  look  at  the  road  He  has  beaten 
down  for  our  feet.  You  will  remember  that 
there  are  five  finger-posts  marking  the  road. 

First  of  all  there  must  be  no  sin  in  us  if  we 
are  to  be  overcomers.  Sin  is  Satan's  footing. 
He  works  through  the  sin  in  us.  There  must 
be  no  sin.  "  But,"  you  say,  "  that  rules  us  out 
at  once,  for  we  have  all  sinned."  The  answer 
to  that  is  very  simple — our  sin  must  be  put  over 
upon  our  Lord  Jesus.  There  was  no  sin  in 
Him;  but  there  was  sin  on  Him — ours.  There 
is  sin  both  in  us  and  on  us.  But  it  can  all  be 
put  upon  our  sin-bearer.  We  meet  this  first 
condition  by  trusting  the  Lord  Jesus  as  Saviour. 
There  is  no  sweeter  verse  in  Holy  Writ  than 
this  of  John's,  "  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  con- 
tinually cleanseth  from  all  sin."  ^  There  is  never 
a  moment  when  we  do  not  need  to  trust  that 
precious  bloodshedding  of  His  on  account  of 
our  sins. 

Out  of  the  midst  of  that  great  conflict  be- 
tween the  heavenly  host  under  Michael,  and  the 
forces  of  evil  under  Satan,  with  the  great  vic- 
tory for  Michael  that  settled  it,  there  comes  this 
*  I  John  i.  7. 


176    Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

ringing  cry,  "  they  overcame  on  the  ground  of 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  '  We  can  overcome 
daily  by  trusting  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and 
only  so.  The  tempter  hates  that  Name,  and 
that  truth,  and  he  flees  before  it.  When  tempta- 
tion comes  to  you,  claim  the  power  of  the  blood, 
and  both  temptation  and  tempter  will  flee. 

Then  there  is  a  second  word  to  be  put  in 
here — It  can  be  true  that  there  is  no  sin  in  you 
as  far  as  the  purpose  of  your  life  is  concerned. 
We  can  be  sinless  in  purpose.  And  as  we  tread 
that  road  we  shall  become  more  and  more  free 
from  sin  in  actual  life.  We  can  choose  that  sin 
shall  be  put  out  and  kept  out.  That  choice  must 
be  daily.  It  must  control  every  action  of  life. 
It  must  be  as  constant  as  temptation  is. 

A  Narrow  Path, 


Then  there  is  the  second  finger-post — there 
must  be  no  self-seeking  in  us.  Self-seeking  is 
the  Satan-spirit.  Through  the  self-seeking 
spirit  in  us,  he  gets  a  free  hand  to  do  what  he 
chooses.  And  here  we  are  just  as  helpless  in 
ourselves  as  on  the  first  item.  Yet  there  is  a 
way  of  victory  here,  too,  and  not  a  difficult  way 
for  the  earnest  man.  We  can  yield  the  control 
of  our  daily  Hfe  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Holy 
Spirit  will  burn  the  old  self-spirit  out.  The 
*  Revelation  xii.  11. 


For  the  Overcomers  177 

blood  of  Jesus  Christ  to  wash  the  sin  out,  the 
fire  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  burn  the  self-spirit 
out — this  is  the  sure  way  of  victory  here; 
it  is  the  only  way,  but  it  is  an  unfailing 
way. 

There  needs  to  be  the  most  rigorous  discipline 
here.  I  do  not  mean  in  a  morbid,  extreme  way, 
but  simply  a  sane,  sensible  choosing  to  keep  out 
of  your  life  whatever  comes  from  this  source. 
And  the  quiet  daily  touch  alone  with  the  Mas- 
ter will  cultivate  your  good  sense  to  know  what 
is  to  be  kept  out,  or  taken  in.  Whatever  of  the 
old  self-spirit  is  allowed  in  will  make  just  so 
much  less  the  victory  of  your  life. 

And  the  third  finger-post  is  this — simple,  full 
obedience  to  the  Master's  will  for  you.  Obedi- 
ence is  the  one  pathway  of  power.  We  should 
serve  less  and  obey  more,  or  rather,  we  should 
do  no  serving  save  as  it  comes  in  obeying  the 
Voice.  When  will  the  Church  learn  to  put 
obedience  before  service!  When  it  does  there 
will  come  new  power  and  new  triumphs. 

Yet,  mark  keenly,  obedience  to  be  intelligent 
and  wise  means  a  clear  vision.  Moses,  killing 
the  Egyptian,  was  zealous,  but  he  hadn't  a  clear 
vision.  Paul,  persecuting  the  Christians  was  full 
of  zeal,  but  he  hadn't  a  clear  vision?  Elijah  de- 
pressed under  the  juniper  tree,  Peter  refusing 
to  eat  with  the  Gentile  Christians  at  Antioch — 
these  men  were  earnest,   but  they  lacked  the 


lyS     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

clear  vision.  The  secret  of  victory  is  this — a 
clear  vision  of  God's  purposes,  and  of  His  plan 
for  you,  and  then  a  faithful  steady  unflinching 
obedience  to  that  vision.  The  tempter  can  do 
nothing  with  or  against  the  man  who  obeys. 
This  is  a  sure  road  to  victory. 


Pushing  Bravely  on. 


And  the  fourth  finger-post  to  the  victory-road 
is  fearlessness.  Nothing  weakens  us  like  fear. 
Nothing  weakens  the  tempter  in  his  assaults 
upon  us  like  a  quiet,  bold,  steady  fearlessness. 
Satan  can't  operate  in  an  atmosphere  of  trust; 
it  chokes  him.  God  cannot  act  in  an  atmosphere 
of  fear;  it  hinders  Him.  One  of  the  commonest 
phrases  on  the  lips  of  God  throughout  this  Bible 
is  this,  ''  Fear  not."  Like  a  bit  of  sweet  in- 
spiriting music  it  runs  throughout  these  pages. 
And,  if  He  may  have  His  way  it  will  be  the 
unfailing  music  of  our  lives.  "  Fear  not,"  is 
His  continual  word  to  you  and  me. 

No  matter  how  tight  the  corner,  how  steep 
the  road,  and  how  rough,  how  difficult  the  cir- 
cumstance, however  fearsome  the  growling  of 
the  tempter — yet  "fear  not."  Let  this  be  the 
continual  song  of  your  life.  The  tempter  can't 
stand  up  before  a  fearless  spirit.  And  there 
is  no  need  for  fear ;  our  Lord  is  Victor.  He  has 
all  power.     And  His  power  is  at  our  disposal. 


For  the  Overcomers  179 

Tfiere  is  always  need  of  prayer,  but  never  cause 
for  fear. 

That  Revelation  cry  of  victory  has  a  tremen- 
dous second  clause  to  it.  "  They  overcame  on 
the  ground  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  be- 
cause of  the  word  of  their  testimony."  ^  Their 
voice  rang  out  clear,  and  boldly  fearless.  The 
human  was  coupled  with  the  divine.  The  testi- 
mony made  the  overcoming  power  of  the  blood 
effective.  Bold,  wise  fearlessness  in  life  and 
speech,  in  action  and  spirit,  undercuts  the  power 
of  the  tempter. 

And  the  fifth  finger-post  needs  sharp  empha- 
sis. There  must  be  aggressive  warfare  against 
the  evil  one.  I  do  not  mean  by  "  aggressive," 
making  a  noise  and  raising  clouds  of  dust,  but 
the  steady  on-moving  of  the  sun  in  its  course. 
I  mean  the  aggressiveness  of  love,  of  sunshine, 
of  goodness.  There  needs  to  be  the  fearless 
standing  up'  against  the  wiles  of  the  tempter. 
We  should  get  our  fighting  clothes  on  and  well- 
girded  too,  for  sharp  decisive  action. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  meek  submission  by 
Christian  people  that  is  both  cowardly  and  sin- 
ful. What  comes  along  is  yielded  to  as  God's 
will.  Whereas  a  great  deal  of  what  comes  along 
is  not  His  will,  but  is  the  result  of  the  planning 
of  the  evil  one.  Aggression  means  a  thinking 
keenly  into  God's  way  of  working,  a  seeing 
^Revelation  xii.  ii. 


i8o     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

clearly  what  is  His  will,  and  what  is  opposed  to 
His  will,  and  then  a  vigorous  resisting  in  the 
Victor's  Name  of  anything  not  God's  will. 

We  should  be  ambitious  to  be  able  to  repeat 
dear  old  Paul's  words  at  the  end  of  his  strenu- 
ous life,  *'  I  have  fought  the  good  fight." ' 
There's  great  need  of  more  fighters,  wise, 
steady,  sane,  hard  fighters  against  the  evil  one, 
in  Jesus'  great  Name. 

"  Ne'er  think  the  victory  won 
Nor  lay  thine  armour  down; 
Thine  arduous  task  will  not  be  done 
Till  thou  obtain  the  crown." 

That  victorious  cry  of  Michael's  host  has  still 
another  clause,  ''  They  overcame  him  on  the 
ground  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  because 
of  the  word  of  their  testimony,  and  they  loved 
not  their  life  even  unto  death."  There  was  the 
aggressiveness  of  sacrifice.  There  is  nothing  so 
aggressive  in  the  fight  against  the  evil  one  as 
the  sacrificial  spirit  of  love,  that  counts  not  its 
own  life  a  thing  to  be  prized  in  order  that  vic- 
tory may  come. 

Overcoming  Armour. 

Paul  gives  a  fine  picture  of  the  overcoming 
man.    It  is  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Ephesian 
*2  Timothy  iv.  7. 


For  the  Overcomers  i8i 

Epistle.*  He  describes  first  the  foe  against 
which  we  are  to  fight.  Then  follows  the  descrip- 
tion of  God's  fighting  man.  The  overcomer 
must  be  a  fighter.  The  victory  comes  only 
through  conflict.  Notice  God's  fighting  man — 
"  having  girded  your  loins  with  truth."  That 
is,  a  clear,  simple  grasp  of  God's  truth  as  re- 
vealed in  His  Word.  It  means  such  a  grasp  of 
it  as  grips  the  life,  girds  the  loins,  and  puts  you 
into  fit  shape  for  vigorous  action. 

Then  follows  this :  "  Having  put  on  the  breast- 
plate of  righteousness."  There  must  be  a  clean 
pure  life.  The  truth  has  girded  so  tightly  that 
the  advance  of  sin  has  been  fought  off.  "  And 
having  shod  your  feet  with  the  preparation  of 
the  gospel  of  peace,"  or  having  the  gospel  as  a 
sure  footing  in  your  fighting.  That  is,  a  clear 
grasp  of  the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  namely,  that 
salvation  is  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and 
only  so — this  is  the  only  sure  footing  for  this 
fight.  Any  other  will  fail  you  in  the  thick  smoke 
and  din  of  the  battle. 

"Withal  taking  up  the  shield  of  faith."  A 
strongly  simple,  childlike  faith  in  God  is  the  sure 
defence  against  the  attacks  of  the  enemy.  "  The 
helmet  of  salvation  "  is  a  clear  unshakeable  as- 
surance of  one's  own  personal  salvation.  There 
can  be  no  effective  fighting  while  any  doubt  of 
this  lingers.  "  The  sword  of  the  Spirit "  is  the 
*Ephesians  vi.  10-19. 


1 82     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

good  strong  grasp  of  the  truth,  for  the  enemy, 
when  he  tries  the  Wilderness  tactics  on  you,  as 
well  as  for  your  service  among  men.  And  the 
description  closes  with  the  chief  emphasis  on 
prayer. 

Leaving  Paul's  armour  figure  aside,  those 
seven  things  might  be  put  into  this  simple  shape. 
First,  dependence  upon  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  is  the  whole  of  the  gospel  of 
peace.  A  continual  claiming  of  the  power  of 
His  death  and  resurrection.  Second,  a  pure, 
holy  life.  Third,  obedience  based  upon  an  in- 
telligent grasp  of  the  Word.  Fourth,  fearless 
aggressiveness  both  in  attack  and  defence.  And 
then  underlying  and  overlapping,  and  breathing 
through  all  the  rest,  a  spirit  of  quiet  confident 
praying.  This  sort  of  a  man  will  be  an  over- 
comer.  There  will  be  sure  victory  for  him  at 
every  onward  step  of  the  way.  He  will  fight 
and  he  will  win. 

And  mark  you  keenly,  all  of  this  is  entirely 
practicable  and  possible  through  grace.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  living  in  you  and  me,  wherever 
the  door  has  swung  for  Him.  He  has  come  in, 
partly,  to  make  us  good  fighters  and  overcomers. 
He  can  be  depended  upon  to  do  it,  too.  Our 
part  is  to  yield  intelligently  and  actively  to  His 
generalship. 

There  is  great  need  for  more  overcomers,  and 
our  Lord  earnestly  calls  from  the  glory  for  men 


For  the  Overcomers  183 

to  follow  in  His  steps  and  His  strength.  He  won 
the  decisive  victory  over  our  enemy.  But  every 
man  must  make  that  victory  his  own  on  the  bat- 
tlefield of  his  own  life.  And  in  Jesus'  great 
Name  we  can,  and,  please  God,  by  His  great 
sweet  grace  we  will. 


FIGHTING    TACTICS:    THE 
TEMPTER'S  AND  OURS 

Recognition  half  the  Fight. 

An  attacking  enemy  unrecognized  has  his  bat- 
tle half  won.  Recognition  is  a  long  step  toward 
His  defeat.  If  we  know  something  of  the 
tempter's  way  of  fighting  it  will  be  an  immense 
help  in  recognizing  and  resisting  and  defeating 
him.  Our  Lord  Jesus  was  victorious  in  the  Wil- 
derness, partly  because  He  was  keen  in  recog- 
nizing the  tactics  used  against  Himself.  His 
keenness  in  recognizing  made  him  quicker  in 
resisting. 

The  tempter  has  one  of  two  aims  in  coming 
to  us.  First  and  most  of  all,  he  wants  to  get 
us  away,  and  keep  us  away  from  God.  That  is 
his  first  aim,  of  course.  But  there  is  a  second 
aim,  which  has  not  been  recognized  so  quickly 
or  so  much.  It  is  against  those  of  us  who  are 
Christians.  No  small  part  of  his  efifort  is  di- 
rected against  those  of  us  who  want  to  be  true. 
And  the  thing  he  is  driving  at  there  is  to  steal 
away  our  peace  and  our  power. 

There  are  many  who  would  not  do  anything 
they  know  to  be  displeasing  to  the  Master.  They 
184 


Fighting  Tactics  185 

conscientiously  guard  that  side  of  their  lives. 
The  tempter's  favourite  mode  of  approach  with 
such  is  to  steal  away  their  sweet  peace  of  mind 
and  heart.  For  in  stealing  away  peace,  he  is 
also  stealing  much  of  their  power.  There  can 
be  fulness  of  power  going  out,  only  as  there 
is  fulness  of  peace  within. 

And  he  is  also  constantly  trying  to  take  away 
our  power  directly,  or  to  make  it  less  so  far  as 
possible.  By  sin,  by  selfishness  in  some  subtle 
shape,  by  attacks  upon  bodily  conditions,  by 
making  us  tired,  or  depressed,  or  discouraged, 
or  switching  us  on  to  some  side  track,  he  can 
do  much  to  switch  us  off  from  the  full  touch 
with  God,  through  which  only  can  come  fulness 
of  power  in  life  and  service.  If  we  are  to  enjoy 
full  peace  of  heart,  and  a  steady  even  poised 
course  of  action  full  of  God's  power,  we  must 
know  something  of  the  tempter's  fighting  tactics, 
and  be  prepared  to  meet  and  match  him 
constantly. 

Let  me  begin  with  just  a  word  about  his  tac- 
tics against  us  corporately.  He  is  a  keen  fighter 
against  the  Church  as  a  whole.  The  main  thing 
he  Is  driving  at  here  is  to  divide  the  Church. 
He  is  an  adept  at  divisive  tactics.  Under  one 
cover  or  another  he  aims  to  separate  one  body 
of  believers  from  the  others.  He  knows  the 
tremendous  power  there  is  in  unity.  He  knows 
so  well  the  resistless  power  against  himself  of 


1 86     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

united  prayer,  of  united  action,  of  a  united  spirit 
controlling,  that  he  has  done  his  utmost  to  kill 
that  spirit  of  unity. 

I  do  not  mean  to  speak  disparagingly  of  the 
term,  when  I  say  that  Satan  is  a  keen  theologian. 
Anything  of  any  sort  that  divides  the  Church, 
or  splits  up  any  group  of  Christ's  followers, 
suits  his  purposes.  And  in  saying  that  I  am  not 
now  pleading  for  a  universal  unity  of  churches, 
for  unity  sometimes  means  dishonour:  Loy- 
alty to  the  essential  Gospel  of  our  Lord,  and 
to  His  person,  will  prevent  the  union  that  is 
sometimes  thought  of. 


Two  Lines  of  Approach. 

But  the  chief  thing  we  are  to  talk  together 
about  now  is  his  tactics  in  dealing  with  us  per- 
sonally. And  here  he  has  two  avenues  of  ap- 
proach— he  tempts,  and  he  attacks.  The  tempta- 
tion is  an  attempt  to  induce  us  to  do  wrong,  to 
lead  us,  by  much  or  by  little,  aside  from  the 
one  right  path.  The  attack  is  an  attempt  to 
injure  us  regardless  of  our  consent.  He  tempted 
Eve  in  Eden.  He  attacked  Job.  He  did  both 
with  our  Lord.  Every  weapon  at  command  was 
used  against  Him.  Jesus  met  every  sort  of 
temptation  and  attack  on  our  behalf.  He  was 
tempted  in  the  Wilderness,  and  when  the  Greeks 
came.     He  was  attacked  by  that  unusually  vio- 


Fighting  Tactics  187 

lent  Galilean  storm;  and  in  Gethsemane,  and  on 
Calvary. 

The  temptation  is  for  all,  the  attack  is  for 
those  resisting  the  temptation.  When  he  fails 
in  tempting,  he  tries  attacking.  Of  course  it  is 
true  that  the  attack  itself  may  become,  and  often 
does  become,  simply  a  subtler  form  of  tempta- 
tion. It  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  Job  that  he  was  attacked  by  Satan.  Those 
attacks  told  this  story,  that  Job  had  been  tempted 
and  had  resisted.  He  had  become  skilled  in 
recognizing  and  fighting  the  tempter's  tempta- 
tions. Then  the  tempter,  having  failed  so  largely 
there,  cunningly  changes  his  line  of  approach. 

In  temptation  he  seeks  our  consent  to  his  pro- 
posals. In  his  attacks  he  does  what  he  is  al- 
lowed to,  acting  within  the  limitations  set  by 
God,  to  injure  without  seeking  our  consent.  So 
the  attack  itself  becomes  a  temptation,  usually 
a  temptation  to  doubt  God,  or  to  depart  from 
the  path  of  obedience  in  seeking  our  own  com- 
fort or  ease  or  protection.  The  attack  is  really 
the  second  hard  drive  when  temptation  fails. 

In  these  temptations  and  attacks,  he  is  some- 
times subtle,  like  a  snake  crawling  along  in  the 
tall  grass  to  strike  its  fangs  in  when  you  least 
think  it  is  there.  Sometimes  he  comes  with  the 
rush  of  a  sudden  wild  storm  down  the  valley,  in 
an  attempt  to  sweep  you  off  your  feet. 


1 88     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

The  Outworks. 

Now  notice,  please,  the  rule  he  follows  in 
these  temptations  and  attacks.  He  always  aims 
at  the  weakest  point;  that  is  by  weakest  I  mean 
the  point  where  he  is  most  hkely  to  succeed.  If 
successful  there,  of  course,  his  point  is  achieved. 
If  defeated  at  that  point  of  approach  he  pro- 
ceeds to  the  next  likeliest,  and  so  on.  In  Eden 
his  first  approach  was  successful.  It  is  rather 
humiliating  that  our  oldest  kinsman  yielded  at 
the  first  point  of  approach.  In  the  Wilderness 
he  went  from  one  point  to  another,  until  having 
failed  in  each  he  was  obliged  to  leave.  But 
note,  too,  that  though  he  may  fail  at  some  one 
point  of  approach,  he  is  sure  to  come  back  to 
that  same  point  in  some  changed  guise. 

It  is  always  good  tactics  for  us  to  guard  our 
weak  points,  or  our  likeliest  points  of  approach. 
And  as  a  man's  strong  point  is  quite  likely  to 
become  his  weak  point  through  over-confidence, 
therefore  guard  all  points,  but  especially  the 
weak,  the  likeliest  points  of  approach. 

Then  mark  that  it  is  a  favourite  method  with 
the  tempter  to  come  through  our  bodies.  He 
tempts  through  the  natural  appetites  and  desires. 
He  attacks  through  weakness  or  sickness  or  dis' 
ease.  Eve  was  tempted  first  by  the  appeal  to 
a  perfectly  proper  bodily  desire.  When  that 
temptation  was  yielded  to,  the  next  came  like- 


Fighting  Tactics  189 

wise  in  the  realm  of  the  body,  to  use  a  proper 
function  for  a  purpose  not  intended. 

Our  Lord  was  tempted  first  in  the  appeal  to 
His  sense  of  hunger.  It  was  a  bodily  tempta- 
tion. It  is  striking  that  the  tempter  made  no 
headway  with  Job  until  he  attacked  his  body. 
Job  remained  true  through  the  disasters  that 
came  by  war,  and  storm,  by  loss  of  children  and 
property,  but  when  his  body  was  touched  his 
strength  of  resistance  began  to  weaken. 

Many  a  man  who  would  scorn  to  yield  to  what 
he  recognizes  as  a  sin  in  the  bodily  realm  will 
over-use  his  bodily  strength  in  doing  God's  serv- 
ice, or  will  eat  imprudently,  or  eat  such  things 
as  are  not  wholesome,  not  thinking  of  these  as 
temptations.  But  the  result  is  that  he  is  either 
weakened  in  his  work,  or  set  aside  from  doing 
it.  And  that  is,  at  least,  a  partial  victory  for 
the  tempter.  When  we  come  to  realize  that 
whatever  weakens  our  bodies  is  a  temptation  to 
be  resisted,  we  shall  have  gone  far  in  defeating 
the  evil  one,  at  one  of  his  subtlest  points  of 
approach. 

Attacking  the  Citadel. 

Another  common  mode  of  approach  is  through 
the  mind.  First,  there  is  the  indirect  approach 
to  the  mind.  Whatever  weakens  the  body,  by 
so  much  robs  us  likewise  of  mental  strength.    I 


190     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

know  that  it  has  been  commonly  said  that  some 
of  the  most  saintly  men  have  had  weak  bodies. 
But  I  am  quite  clear  that  their  saintliness  was  not 
due  to  their  weak  bodies,  but  in  spite  of  them.  If 
God  may  have  His  way,  we  will  have  strong 
bodies  as  well  as  saintly  lives.  There  is  no 
temptation  or  attack  harder  to  resist  than  that 
which  comes  through  or  to  the  body. 

Then  there  is  the  direct  approach  to  the  mind. 
The  commonest  form  here  is  to  make  us  over- 
pleased  with  ourselves  and  with  what  we  have 
done.  Egotism  is  one  of  the  commonest  of  all 
vices.  The  undue  sense  of  our  own  importance 
or  ability  can  get  in  through  a  very  thin  crevice, 
and  does.  Yet  this  is  a  bit  of  the  very  core 
of  the  Satan-spirit.  The  line  between  a  proper 
self-esteem,  and  an  improper  thinking  more 
highly  of  ourselves  than  we  ought  to  think,  is 
a  very  thin  line,  very  easily  crossed,  indeed  very 
hard  not  to  cross. 

Only  an  eye  fixed  steadily  upon  Him,  who 
gave  us  all  we  have,  and  to  whom  we  are  in 
debt  to  do  the  very  best  we  can  with  our  abili- 
ties— only  that  steady  watching  of  His  face  will 
keep  our  feet  steady  too,  and  keep  our  heads 
from  getting  dizzy,  when  the  path  leads  up  some 
unusual  height,  with  a  crowd  watching. 

But  there  are  other  modes  of  attack  upon  us 
through  our  minds.  And  I  want  to  speak  more 
fully  of  these  both  because   they  are   so  very 


Fighting  Tactics  191 

common,  and  because  they  are  not  recognized  as 
coming  from  the  tempter.  Mental  depression 
is  a  favourite  mode  of  attacking  Christians,  es- 
pecially those  who  earnestly  desire  to  ring  true. 
There  is  a  good  bit  of  mental  depression  with- 
out doubt  due  directly  to  bodily  conditions.  But 
there  is  also  a  great  deal  that  comes  directly 
from  the  evil  one  or  from  some  of  his  numerous 
messenger  spirits. 

This  depression  may  be  found  in  all  degrees 
of  intensity,  from  the  slightest  which  yields  to 
help,  on  to  the  degree  of  severe  melancholy  that 
leads  to  insanity,  and  the  taking  of  one's  life. 
It  may  begin  with  a  sense  of  loss  of  peace,  a 
sense  of  God's  presence  being  withdrawn,  as 
though  He  were  displeased  and  had  left  us.  The 
quiet  hour  of  prayer  seems  mechanical ;  the 
heart  seems  cold,  and  these  very  feelings  deepen 
and  intensify  the  sense  of  depression.  While 
much  of  this  may  be  traced  to  bodily  conditions, 
without  doubt  much  of  it  is  a  direct  attack  by 
an  unrecognized  evil  spirit  who  is  seeking  to 
rob  us  of  peace  and  power. 

Here  recognition  is  half  of  the  remedy,  and 
if  it  lead  to  quick  resistance  in  Jesus'  Name,  the 
relief  will  be  complete.  I  recall  talking  with 
a  Christian  lady  from  Europe,  a  highly  cultured 
lady  of  noble  birth,  whose  service  has  been 
greatly  blest  of  God  to  large  numbers,  but  who 
was  suffering  from  mental  depression  to  a  de- 


192     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

gree  that  was  painful.  Recognition  of  the  evil 
spirit  at  work,  and  resistance  in  the  Victor's 
Name,  quickly  cleared  the  sky  for  the  bright 
shining  of  the  sun  again. 


Obsession. 


Sometimes  the  attack  takes  the  form  of  men- 
tal stupidity  or  the  sense  of  extreme  tiredness 
when  reading  the  Bible,  or  praying,  or  attempt- 
ing some  bit  of  Christian  service.  I  recall  an 
earnest  Christian  woman  of  much  more  than 
usual  mental  keenness,  who  for  a  long  time  was 
troubled  in  this  way.  Her  mind  was  clear 
enough  with  other  matters  or  books,  but  when 
she  turned  for  her  Bible  reading,  she  grew  men- 
tally stupid,  and  seemed  unable  to  get  anything. 
She  would  kneel  to  pray  at  night  and  intense 
sleepiness  would  come  over  her,  yet  when  she 
would  rise  from  her  knees,  and  retire  for  the 
night,  sleep  would  leave  her  eyes.  And  this  con- 
tinued long  until  a  bit  of  light  broke.  She  rec- 
ognized that  the  evil  one,  or  an  evil  spirit,  was 
attacking  her.  And  steady  resistance  in  Jesus' 
Name  brought  relief  which  has  continued  with- 
out break.  And  this  is  only  one  instance  of 
many  of  the  same  sort  that  I  have  known  of 
personally. 

I  know  an  earnest  Christian  whose  service 
has  been  much  used  and  blest,  who  was  beset 


Fighting  Tactics  193 

with  an  abnormal  sense  of  tiredness,  which  held 
him  back  from  service,  and  affected  what  service 
he  did.  No  extra  sleeping  nor  resting  brought 
relief,  but  as  quickly  as  he  was  led  to  see  that 
he  was  being  attacked  by  evil  forces,  he  resisted 
earnestly  and  aggressively  in  the  great  Name, 
and  he  quickly  entered  into  a  new  life  of  peace 
of  heart,  and  of  renewed  vigorous  mental 
activity. 

I  want  to  say  a  word  here  about  what  is 
called  obsession.  We  are  more  familiar  with 
the  term  demon-possession  than  with  the  com- 
panion term  demon-obsession.  Demon-posses- 
sion means  that  a  demon  or  evil  spirit  has  been 
allowed  to  come  in  and  take  possession  of  one's 
personality.  That  was  extremely  common  in  the 
Gospel  days,  and  is  still  very  common  in  non- 
Christian  lands,  and  much  more  common  in 
Christian  lands  than  is  commonly  supposed. 

This  other  thing  of  demon-obsession  is  ex- 
tremely common  too,  though  not  much  recog- 
nized. It  simply  means  that  evil  spirits  are 
attacking  and  disturbing  and  annoying  us. 
Demon-possession  is  impossible  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  man  whose  personality  is  taken  pos- 
session of.  But  obsession  is  possible  without 
such  consent,  because  it  is  an  outer  attack.  And 
the  remarkable  thing  is  that  obsession  by  demons 
is  quite  a  common  experience  by  the  saintliest 
people,  though  so  rarely  recognized.     Indeed  it 


194     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

seems  to  be  true  that  it  is  the  earnest,  conse- 
crated, saintly  ones  who  are  singled  out  for  this 
form  of  attack.  Whatever  disturbance  or  an- 
noyance an  evil  spirit  may  cause  in  this  way, 
comes  under  this  general  head  of  obsession.  The 
mental  depression,  the  melancholia,  and  mental 
stupidity,  and  tiredness,  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
really  belong  under  this  head  of  obsession.  But 
it  also  takes  more  vigorous  forms  than  these. 


Some  Actual  Experiences. 

I  recall  the  experience  of  a  man  of  matured 
years  and  well-seasoned  judgment.  He  had 
been  led  to  take  an  advance  step  in  his  Christian 
life  which  meant  much  of  sacrifice.  He  has 
since  then  been  used  in  his  Christian  service  in 
a  marked  way,  and  to  an  unusual  degree.  This 
experience  came  just  after  the  step  referred  to 
had  been  taken.  He  was  awakened  in  the  night 
by  the  sense  of  an  unwholesome  presence  in  the 
room,  or  rather  the  feeling  that  the  room  was 
full  of  evil  beings.  A  peculiar  feeling  of  horror 
came  over  him,  with  strange  bodily  sensations. 
The  air  of  the  room  seemed  stifling.  He  quickly 
recognized  that  he  was  being  attacked,  rose  from 
bed,  and  attempted  to  sing  a  verse  of  a  hymn 
with  Jesus'  Name  in.  It  seemed  impossible  at 
first  to  get  his  lips  open,  or  any  sound  out.  But 
he  persisted  and  soon  the  soft  singing  was  clear 


Fighting  Tactics  195 

and  full,  and  the  spirit  atmosphere  of  the  room 
cleared  at  once.  And  with  grateful  heart  he  lay 
down  again,  and  slept  sweetly  until  the  morn- 
ing. Yet  he  is  a  man  of  unusual  caution,  with 
a  critical  matter-of-fact  spirit  of  investigation. 

A  friend  was  telling  recently  of  a  somewhat 
similar  experience.  He  is  an  earnest  godly  man, 
of  mature  experience,  and  more  than  the  aver- 
age sanity  of  judgment.  It  was  shortly  after 
retiring  for  the  night,  and  before  sleep  had  come, 
that  a  peculiar  sense  of  awful  blackness  came 
over  him.  With  the  strange  sense  of  mental 
keenness  that  marks  such  experiences  he  seemed 
to  know  that  his  mind  was  slipping  away  from 
his  control.  He  could  not  recall  who  he  was, 
and  realized  that  he  could  not.  He  could  not 
even  remember  his  name.  There  was  an  over- 
whelming sense  of  blackness,  as  though  his  mind 
were  saturated  with  a  blackness  that  was  press- 
ing in  upon  him.  And  he  said  he  was  conscious 
of  being  conscious  of  only  one  thnig — the  Name 
of  Jesus.  He  clung  to  that,  saying  the  Name 
"  Jesus "  over  and  again.  It  was  as  though 
every  power  of  thought  and  speech  was  gone 
save  that  of  uttering  that  Name.  Relief  came, 
and  with  a  sense  of  gratitude  that  could  never 
be  told,  he  said,  he  prayed  and  went  to  sleep. 

I  could  repeat  many  such  experiences  that 
have  come  to  my  knowledge.  These  will  be 
sufficient  to  make  clear  my  meaning  in  talking 


196     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

of  obsession.  Evil  spirits  attack  the  saintliest 
men  and  women,  in  these  and  similar  ways. 
Failure  to  recognize  the  nature  and  source  of 
the  attack  has  sometimes  led  to  serious  results. 

I  recall  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  brainy  men 
that  ever  preached  the  Gospel,  a  man  of  unusual 
charm  of  personality  and  earnest  devotion,  whose 
life  went  abruptly  out  under  the  touch  of  his 
own  hand.  The  physician  used  the  phrase  "  in- 
tense melancholia."  But  careful  study  into  the 
case  revealed  the  fact  that  without  question  the 
fuller  explanation  can  be  found  here  in  demon- 
obsession,  unrecognized. 

These  are  some  of  the  tempter's  fighting  tac- 
tics. They  are  given  here  that  we  may  be 
quicker  and  keener  to  recognize  him  and  his, 
and  so  to  resist  more  quickly  and  successfully 
in  the  Name  of  his  Victor,  which  he  so  fears. 

''  On  the  Ground  of  the  Blood/' 


And  now  we  want  to  talk  a  bit  on  the  other 
side — our  fighting  tactics.  What  are  the  true 
tactics  which  this  enemy  of  ours  fears  and  can- 
not resist.  There  will  be  a  little  repetition  here 
of  what  has  been  said  before.  But  repetition 
is  the  law  of  deep  and  lasting  impression. 

First  of  all  must  come  that  great  statement 
made  of  Michael's  fight  and  victory  in  John's 
Revelation.   "  They  overcame  him  on  the  ground 


Fighting  Tactics  197 

of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,"  ^  We  cannot  get 
beyond  that.  The  enemy  is  the  same,  the  fight 
the  same,  and  the  means  of  victory  the  same  too; 
It  was  by  the  shedding  of  His  own  blood  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Himself  defeated  the  enemy. 
It  is  only  by  that  same  precious  blood  that  we 
can  get  victory  too. 

This  seems  like  strange  fighting,  not  spear 
and  sword,  not  gun-cotton  and  powder  but — a 
Name,  the  Name  of  Jesus;  a  fact,  the  fact  that 
He  gave  His  blood  for  us.  They  overcame  on 
the  ground  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb;  so  may 
we.  And  only  so  can  we.  There  must  be  the 
daily  pleading  of  the  power  of  the  blood,  the 
claiming  of  its  redeeming  power  from  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy.  In  the  thick  of  the  hard- 
est fighting  that  blood-red  banner  persistently 
flung  out  will  rout  this  foe.  We  never  get  be- 
yond the  need  of  claiming  the  power  of  that 
blood. 

T4ien  the  second  chapter  in  our  book  of  tac- 
tics must  be  this ;  habitual  surrender  to  the  mas- 
tery of  our  Lord  Jesus.  Only  so  can  there  be 
the  fighting  that  wins.  Anything  else  is  letting 
the  enemy  within  the  lines.  That  surrender 
must  be  full  and  sane  and  sensible;  it  must  be 
rhythmic  with  the  glad  music  of  our  hearts. 
It  must  be  habitual,  as  habitual  as  breathing. 

It  must  cover  the  bodily  habits,  the  mental 
^Revelation  xii.  11. 


198     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

life,  the  social  contacts,  the  friendships,  the  busi- 
ness relations  and  methods,  and  even  that 
strangely  clinging,  subtle  stuff  called  money.  A 
glad  cheery  yielding  of  the  whole  life  to  the 
mastery  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  this  is  splendid  fight- 
ing tactics,  and  irresistible.  But  anything  less 
means  loss  of  power  for  us,  and  gain  of  power 
by  our  foe. 

Then  there  is  a  daily  prayer  that  our  Victor 
has  given  us  to  use — "  deliver  us  from  the  evil 
one."  It  is  striking  that  that  is  one  of  the  few 
petitions  in  the  Lord's  prayer.  It  is  to  be  re- 
peated daily,  as  the  language  of  the  prayer 
makes  clear.  The  old  reading  is,  "  deliver  us 
from  evil,"  but  it  seems  clearly  to  be  the  fuller 
meaning  of  the  Master's  language  to  make  it 
personal — "  the  evil  one."  And  the  word  "  de- 
liver "  has  all  the  force  of  the  word  "  rescue." 
Our  Master  teaches  us  daily  to  bow  and  pray, 
"  rescue  me  from  the  evil  one."  It  is  most 
significant. 

I  know  a  thoughtful  man  who  begins  the  day 
by  quietly  slipping  his  hands  over  his  body  from 
head  down,  slowly  repeating  this  prayer,  "  de- 
liver me  from  the  evil  one,  and  breathe  in  afresh 
Thy  own  life,  in  Jesus'  great  Name."  That  is 
good  fighting  tactics.  It  is  insisting  on  all  the 
powers  of  our  Victor's  victory,  in  the  stress  and 
thick  of  life's  need. 


Fighting  Tactics  199 

"  The  Sword  of  the  Spirit:' 

There  is  a  fourth  bit  in  our  fighting  tactics 
that  needs  much  emphasis,  namely,  saturate  your 
mind  with  the  Word  of  God.  Let  there  be  a 
quiet  time  daily  alone  with  the  Book,  until  you 
get  full  of  it,  and  then  fuller.  Let  the  Book  it- 
self have  first  place  in  that  quiet  time.  No  book, 
however  good,  and  no  collection  of  verses,  how- 
ever choice,  should  be  allowed  to  take  this  first 
place.  Let  the  reading  be  wide,  by  the  page; 
let  it  be  daily,  through  the  year,  with  sometimes 
a  bit  extra,  but  never  a  bit  less;  let  it  be  prayer- 
ful with  the  heart  held  open  to  God's  own 
touch.  So  will  come  the  familiarity  and  clear 
vision  so  essential.  This  was  our  Lord's  method 
in  meeting  the  tempter  in  the  Wilderness. 

And  this  leads  directly  to  the  fifth  thing  I 
want  to  emphasize  strongly.  It  is  this,  cultivate 
a  sane  judgment,  and  a  quiet  mind.  One  should 
pray  daily  for  the  blessing  of  a  sound  mind,  one 
that  does  not  go  to  extremes.  Nothing  culti- 
vates the  judgment  like  this  Word  of  God,  in- 
terpreted to  us  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Avoid 
extremes,  both  the  extreme  of  over-cautiousness, 
and  the  extreme  of  radicalism. 

Faith  Street  is  on  a  hill.  It  lies  very  close  to 
two  other  streets,  one  at  each  end  leading  down- 
ward. The  one  is  Queer  Street;  the  other  is 
Doubt  Street.    You  want  to  avoid  each  extreme. 


200     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Live  on  the  top  of  the  hill  with  clearness  of 
vision,  sanity  of  judgment,  and  quietness  of 
mind.  This  will  help  greatly  in  actively  fight- 
ing the  enemy.  Satan  does  not  like  poise,  he 
prefers  the  pendulum  swing. 

A  sixth  point  has  been  referred  to  repeatedly, 
but  miust  be  given  the  emphasis  of  a  place  in 
this  grouping.  I  mean  this,  learn  to  recognize 
the  enemy's  approach,  whether  he  comes  himself 
or  through  one  of  his  numerous  messenger- 
spirits.  Cultivate  a  keen  ear  for  his  voice  and 
step,  a  quick  eye  for  his  hand,  however  gloved, 
and  a  sensitive  spirit  for  his  touch  and  pres- 
ence. We  are  to  take  time  a  little  later  to  talk 
together  about  the  tempter's  disguises,  and  how 
to  detect  them.  That,  I  hope,  will  help  us  in 
this  work  of  quick  and  sure  recognition.  With- 
out doubt  our  Lord's  keenness  and  quickness  in 
recognizing  both  tempter  and  temptation  in  the 
Wilderness  was  an  immense  help  in  the  victory 
won  there.  Yet  that  recognition  came  to  him 
in  the  same  way  as  it  may  come  to  us. 

The  Wondrous  Name. 


And  then  a  last  word  must  be  put  in  for  the 
hour  of  stress.  When  the  temptation  comes 
so  subtly,  and  crowds  so  hard,  remember  this 
word — claim  Christ's  victory.  Remember  that 
the  victory  has  been  won.    Claim  that  victory  as 


Fighting  Tactics  201 

your  own.  Go  in  the  strength  of  what  Some- 
body else  has  done.  The  victory  you  are  need- 
ing just  now,  when  the  temptation  comes  with 
a  wild  rush,  and  nearly  sweeps  you  off  your  feet 
at  once,  remember  that  victory  has  been  won. 
It  is  an  accomplished  fact.  Claim  it  as  your 
own,  and  it  will  be  your  own  in  fact.  There 
is  far  more  victory  just  within  grasp  than  you 
have  realized.  Reach  out  your  hand  and  take 
as  your  very  own  what  has  been  done  for  you. 

That  victory  has  been  enshrined  in  a  Name. 
All  the  power  of  the  Nazareth  victory,  and  of 
the  Wilderness  victory,  all  the  power  of  the 
great  climax  victory  of  Calvary,  and  of  the 
Resurrection  morning — all  is  packed  into  one 
word,  a  Name,  the  Name  of  Jesus.  There  is 
far  more,  infinitely  more  practical  help  and 
power  in  that  Name  than  we  have  dreamed  of; 
certainly  far  more  than  we  have  ever  used.  The 
Name  of  Jesus  is  the  most  valuable  asset  of  the 
Christian  life. 

I  remember  a  young  man  coming  up  to  me  at 
the  close  of  a  service  in  London.  He  told  me 
of  how  sorely  he  had  been  tempted,  how  he 
seemed  to  make  no  headway  against  the  strug- 
gle in  his  Christian  life,  until  the  suggestion 
came  to  him  of  the  practical  value  of  that  Name 
above  every  name.  Instantly  he  began  using 
it,  reverently,  prayerfully,  eagerly,  and  reHef 
and  victory  came.    And  the  look  of  eye  and  face 


202     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

revealed  how  real  was  the  victory  and  peace  that 
had  come  to  him. 

A  missionary  in  South  Africa  has  told  a  story 
of  her  experience  in  the  use  of  that  great  Name. 
The  story  has  a  simplicity  and  a  power,  that 
makes  one  feel  all  afresh  that  we  have  not  used 
that  great  Name  as  we  may  and  should.  She 
was  travelling  in  Bechuanaland,  camping  by  the 
banks  of  a  badly  swollen  river.  The  discom- 
forts of  heavy  rains,  bad  roads,  poor  food,  and 
stinging  insects  were  very  great.  But  sorer  far 
was  the  moral  havoc  being  wrought  within  sight, 
by  the  wayside  canteen  where  liquors  were  sold 
to  the  hundreds  of  poor  dark-skinned  natives. 
The  distress  of  the  situation  seemed  unbearable. 
In  her  almost  despair  of  soul  she  was  drawn 
away  to  pray,  then  in  calmer  mood  was  led  to 
go  over  toward  the  canteen. 

Her  thought  was  directed  to  one  man,  very 
old,  very  poor,  clad  in  a  few  filthy  rags,  with  a 
bloated  face,  bleared  eyes,  and  loathsome  sores, 
all  the  result  of  his  drinking  the  cheap  adul- 
terated liquor  kept  in  the  canteen.  He  was  just 
staggering  towards  the  canteen  when  she  called 
him.  And  as  he  stopped  to  speak  with  her,  she 
asked  him  why  he  drank  when  it  was  ruining 
him. 

With  a  wild  laugh  he  said,  "Why?  I  can't 
help  it.  I  am  enslaved  by  this  vile  white  man's 
drink.     I  would  gladly  quit,  but  I  can't."    And 


Fighting  Tactics  203 

she  told  him  there  was  a  way  out  into  freedom 
from  his  slavery.  It  was  in  a  name.  "  A  name," 
he  said  with  a  touch  of  awe  coming  over  him. 
"  Yes,  a  name,"  she  said.  And  would  she  tell 
him  that  name.  Praying  for  guidance,  she  told 
him  as  simply  as  she  could  the  story  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  of  the  power  in  the  Name  of  Jesus. 
And  the  old  black  wreck  repeated  the  Name, 
Jesus,  which  was  but  a  new  sound  to  him.  And 
they  knelt  in  prayer  among  the  trees  and  parted. 

Her  journey  took  her  away,  but  weeks  after, 
on  returning,  she  met  the  old  black  man's  wife, 
and  from  her  gleaned  the  fascinating  sequel  to 
the  story.  The  poor  old  enslaved  heathen  man 
had  gone  away,  and  when  the  fever  for  drink 
came  upon  him,  he  had  with  great  earnestness 
repeated  the  Name  of  Jesus  over  and  over.  And 
in  his  simple  speech,  the  fever  left  him,  the 
craving  for  the  drink  went  away,  and  he  felt  as 
if  he  had  never  tasted  the  stuff.  He  said  his 
mouth  felt  clean  as  a  httle  child's,  and  his  body 
had  become  strong  and  well. 

One  day  he  had  allowed  an  old  drinking  com- 
panion to  persuade  him  to  go  with  him.  As  they 
started  toward  the  canteen,  the  old  fever  for 
drink  came  upon  him.  He  could  feel  it  burn- 
ing within  his  body.  He  tried  to  break  away 
from  his  companion,  but  the  old  slavery  gripped 
him  anew  and  held  him  fast.  Then  he  remem- 
bered, and  with  all  the  earnestness  of  his  soul 


204    Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

he  repeated  the  Name  over,  *'  Jesus,  Jesus, 
Jesus."  And  he  said,  "  A  coolness  came  over 
my  brain,  and  my  body,  and  I  was  free  again, 
and  turned  quickly  away." 

Tlie  meagreness  of  the  man's  knowledge  of 
the  Gospel  makes  the  story  seem  almost  star- 
tling. But  the  earnestness  of  his  purpose,  and 
the  simplicity  of  his  faith,  fully  made  up  for 
lack  of  knowledge,  and  supplied  the  sure  link 
with  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  through  that  link  the 
power  came  in  the  hour  of  his  sore  distress. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  if  spirit-beings  were  visi- 
ble, any  one  standing  by  watching  the  old  black 
man,  would  have  seen  evil  spirits  hanging  about 
and  haunting  him,  and  driving  him  on  in  his 
mad  thirst  for  the  drink;  and  then  fleeing, 
frightened  and  terrified,  before  the  Name  of 
their  Victor,  as  the  old  man  repeated  it,  over 
and  again  so  earnestly. 

Fearless  Cheer. 


The  Name  that  brought  the  old  heathen  quick 
relief  from  bodily  appetite  is  available  for  every 
sort  of  need,  and  in  every  sort  of  emergency. 
It  is  our  strong  tower  into  which  we  can  run 
and  be  safe.  Satan  hates  that  Name.  He  fears 
it.  All  the  victory  of  Nazareth,  and  the  Wilder- 
ness, of  Calvary,  and  the  Resurrection,  is 
bound  up  in  that  Name.     And  now  it  is  ours 


Fighting  Tactics  205 

to  use.  The  Master  has  bequeathed  to  us  the 
right  to  use  that  Name,  and  as  we  do  there  is 
as  much  and  as  sure  victory  for  us  as  there  was 
gotten  by  Him. 

There  is  a  last  word  that  ought  to  be  put  in. 
It  should  be  used  as  a  sort  of  bright  underscor- 
ing to  all  that  has  been  said,  and  to  all  that  will 
be  said.  It  will  affect  the  spirit  of  all  our  life, 
and  of  all  our  fighting.  It  is  a  word  from  our 
Master's  own  lips.  It  comes  to  us  out  of  the 
darkness  of  the  darkest  night  He  knew.  In  that 
exquisitely  quiet  voice  of  His  he  said,  "  Be  of 
good  cheer;  I  have  overcome."^  Out  of  the 
gloom  of  that  betrayal  night  it  shines  as  a  bright 
gleam  of  light.  It  stands  out  against  the  back- 
ground of  the  betrayal  of  a  sacred  friendship 
trust,  as  a  beam  of  God's  own  sunshine  out 
of  black  storm  clouds. 

"  Be  of  good  cheer  " — the  uplift  of  its  music 
is  immense.  Let  the  joyous  music  of  His  vic- 
tory ring  its  melody  in  your  soul,  and  then  let 
the  gladness  of  it  out  in  all  your  life.  Be  cheery ! 
Sing  as  you  fight.  Be  joyous  as  you  push  on. 
There  is  an  enemy;  yes,  but  he  is  defeated.  He 
is  still  free  to  fight ;  yes,  but  every  fight  is  meant 
to  mean  a  fresh  defeat  for  him.  We  are  living 
on  the  battlefield;  yes,  but  it  is  to  be  a  victory- 
field  for  us,  because  of  our  Leader.  The  tempter 
is  cunning  and  persistent;  yes,  but  he  is  a 
*John  xvi.  33. 


2o6     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

whipped  foe.  The  enemy  is  more  than  a  match 
for  us;  yes,  but  he  has  been  fairly  outmatched 
by  our  Lord  Jesus.  Cheer  up!  Fasten  the  flag 
at  the  top  of  the  mast,  and  nail  it  there,  and 
clinch  the  nails,  cut  away  the  ropes;  the  flag, 
the  Victor's  flag,  is  there  to  stay. 

"  Be  of  good  cheer ;  /."  With  that  glad  ring- 
ing cry  of  cheer,  couple  the  personality  of  Him 
who  gives  it  to  us — ''  Be  of  good  cheer ;  /.''  It 
is  because  of  Him  that  we  can  be  of  good  cheer. 
He  is  the  basis  of  the  cheer.  Let  this  be  our 
constant  fighting  cry,  **  Be  of  good  cheer ;  / — " 


THE  TEMPTER'S  DISGUISES  AND 
HOW  TO  DETECT  THEM 

Working  under  Cover. 

A  disguise  is  a  lie.  Its  purpose  is  to  deceive. 
It  is  something  bad  hiding  its  face  behind  some- 
thing good.  The  bad  of  itself  would  not  have 
any  chance  if  it  came  barefaced.  It  would  be 
refused  admittance  at  once.  And  if  it  insisted 
on  getting  in  would  be  booted  out  vigorously. 
So  it  steals  some  good  to  hide  behind.  It  pre- 
tends to  be  as  good  as  the  good.  The  door  is 
opened  for  the  good,  and  the  bad  sneaks  stealth- 
ily in  to  carry  out  its  plans. 

A  disguise  is  a  counterfeit.  It  aims  to  make 
things  look  different  from  what  they  are,  and 
to  look  better.  There  are,  of  course,  make-be- 
lieve disguises  used  in  play  in  carrying  out  a 
part;  but  these  only  make  it  more  emphatic  that 
the  purpose  of  a  disguise  is  to  deceive. 

Now  it  is  a  marked  charactertistic  of  the 
tempter  that  he  uses  disguises.  It  is  a  most 
significant  characteristic.  It  puts  him  at  once 
in  sharp  contrast  with  God.  God  is  always  in 
the  open.  At  times  He  conceals  His  glory.  But 
that  is  not  that  He  may  hold  back  something 
207 


2o8     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

from  us,  but  that  we  may  the  better  take  in 
what  is  revealed  of  Himself.  Too  much  light 
bHnds,  and  the  Winded  eyes  get  nothing.  A 
carefully  shaded  Hght,  restraining  the  excessive 
brightness,  enables  us  to  see  more,  and  to  know 
what  we  can't  see  by  what  we  do  see.  God  is  al- 
ways in  the  open.  Our  Lord  Jesus  said  to  His 
accusers,  ''  I  have  spoken  openly."  He  was  con- 
trasting His  openness  with  the  secrecy  with 
which  they  stole  upon  Him  under  cover  of 
night  to  arrest  Him,  and  which  also  marked  His 
trial. 

Satan  works  under  cover.  It  is  immensely 
suggestive  of  his  character  and  purposes.  In 
Eden  he  came  behind  the  covering  of  the  most 
intelHgent  and  beautiful  of  all  the  lower  animal 
creation.  He  is  seldom  mentioned  by  name  in 
the  Old  Testament.  That  is  a  bit  of  the  faith- 
fulness of  its  description  of  things  as  they  ac- 
tually are.  He  carefully  conceals  his  person- 
ality, but  his  disguises  can  be  found  all  through 
the  Book,  and  all  through  the  book  of  life.  His 
footprints  are  easily  found  in  every  roadway  of 
life. 

In  the  story  of  Job,  it  is  noteworthy  that  Job 
supposed  that  all  the  suffering  that  came  had 
been  sent  directly  by  God.  It  is  true  that  it 
had  been  allowed  by  God,  for  a  purpose,  but  it 
had  not  been  sent  by  Him.  But  so  skilfully  had 
the  actual  instigator  of  Job's  troubles  worked, 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  209 

that  the  suffering  man  actually  mistook  him  for 
God. 

The  tempter  is  bad;  he  is  only  bad;  he  is  bad 
clear  through ;  he  has  no  spots  of  good,  nor  any 
spurts  of  good.  He  is  bold  as  well  as  bad.  He 
is  as  bold  as  He  is  bad.  He  hides  behind  God. 
The  worst  hides  behind  the  best.  Satan  uses 
God's  roads.  He  never  makes  roads.  His  bold- 
ness is  startling  in  its  daring.  He  is  as  blas- 
phemous in  his  unblushing  boldness  as  in  his 
unmixed  badness. 

We  want  to  talk  in  a  very  simple  way  about 
some  of  the  disguises  which  the  tempter  uses. 
We  need  keener  eyes  to  pierce  through  the  dis- 
guise to  the  real  thing  underneath.  Satan  is  a 
rare  expert  in  make-up.  He  is  deceiving  even 
the  very  elect  of  God.  He  has  great  skill  in 
new  disguises  when  the  old  ones  are  found  out. 
It  takes  keen  watching  and  habitual  praying, 
much  study  of  God's  Word,  and  a  God-guided 
judgment  if  we  are  to  detect  and  avoid  his  dis- 
guises, and  yet  be  controlled  by  a  sane,  poised 
common  sense  in  all  our  daily  relations  and 
contracts. 


Hiding  Behind  Natural  Desires. 


Mark  first  of  all  this :  the  tempter  hides  he- 
hind  natural  appetites  and  desires.  There  are 
certain  bodily,  and  mental,  and  social,  functions 


2IO     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

and  appetites  and  desires  with  which  we  have 
been  endowed.  The  appetite  for  food  and  drink ; 
the  sense  of  taste  that  appreciates  fine  flavours; 
the  longing  for  and  deHght  in  personal  com- 
panionship; the  desire  to  fit  into  the  scheme  of 
life  and  play  one's  full  part  in  it;  the  sense  of 
beauty  that  can  appreciate  and  enjoy  and  be 
uplifted  by  the  beautiful  in  landscape  and  in 
artistic  handiwork — these  are  perfectly  natural 
tastes  and  desires. 

The  tempter  comes  along  these  natural  path- 
ways of  our  being.  He  prefers  such  roads. 
They  make  easier  travel  for  him.  He  seeks 
to  push  us  to  an  extreme,  this  way  or  that,  in 
satisfying  these  natural  desires.  He  appealed 
to  Eve's  sense  of  beauty,  her  sense  of  taste, 
and  her  desire  for  knowledge.  Had  he  openly 
told  her  why  he  had  come,  and  what  the  result 
of  her  following  his  suggestion  would  be,  she 
would  have  promptly  turned  away.  But  behind 
these  disguises  she  was  deceived,  and  so  fell  into 
the  tangling  snare  laid  at  her  feet. 

The  approach  to  Job  was  very  cunning.  The 
aim  of  the  tempter  was  to  make  Job  doubt  God's 
love.  He  came  up  behind  Job's  love  for  his 
home,  for  his  children,  and  for  peace  and  pros- 
perity. This  was  a  perfectly  natural  love,  im- 
planted in  Job's  heart  by  God.  The  impression 
made  upon  Job  was  that  God  was  taking  away 
his  children,  breaking  up  his  home,  and  taking 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  211 

away  his  peace  and  prosperity.  The  natural 
tendency  was  to  have  his  sense  of  trust  in 
God  rudely  shocked.  The  approach  of  the 
tempter  was  behind  those  natural  God-given 
desires. 

In  the  Wilderness  the  first  approach  of  the 
tempter  was  behind  a  bodily  need.  The  desire 
for  food  was  a  right  thing,  of  course.  The 
tempter  sought  to  use  a  right  desire  to  make  our 
Lord  do  that  which  it  would  have  been  wrong 
for  Him  to  do,  because  contrary  to  His  Father's 
plan  at  that  time.  The  second  approach  was 
through  something  yet  higher  up.  Our  Lord 
said  He  would  trust  the  Father  to  care  for  His 
bodily  needs.  Through  that  spirit  of  trust  in 
God's  loving  watch-care  the  tempter  comes  up 
with  his  second  proposal.  Our  Lord  refused 
to  go  to  the  extreme  of  a  foolhardy  going  where 
He  had  not  been  led. 

Again,  the  third  approach  was  hidden  behind 
a  natural  desire.  World-wide  dominion  was  a 
perfectly  natural  thing  for  our  Lord  Jesus.  It 
was  doubly  so.  As  a  man  merely  He  had  a 
right  to  such  dominion,  even  such  as  was  given 
to  Adam,  and  lost  by  him.  As  the  new  head 
of  the  race  all  things  had  been  given  into  His 
hands.'  But  he  would  take  possession  of  his 
world-wide  dominion  in  His  Father's  way,  and 
time,  and  only  so.'  The  approach  was  behind 
*  Matthew  xi.  27  'Ephesians  i.  20,  2X. 


2  12     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

a  true  natural  instinct,  the  desire  for  world-wide 
dominion. 

So  the  tempter  is  still  doing.  It  is  one  of 
his  settled  ways  of  coming  to  us.  Along  the 
path  of  what  is  right  he  comes  to  push  us  to 
some  extreme,  and  especially  to  push  us  from 
the  narrow  path  of  obedience  to  the  Father's 
plan,  and  way,  and  time.  Our  safety  lies  in 
remembering  that  every  right  desire  is  to  be 
used  only  for  our  Father's  glory  and  as  He 
guides. 

The  natural  desire  is  never  to  be  an  end  in 
itself.  It  is  to  be  used  only  as  a  means  to  a 
high  end.  That  end  is  to  carry  out  God's  pur- 
poses, and  reveal  the  more  His  glory.  The 
tempter  continually  tries  to  sway  us  over  to 
using  these  proper  natural  desires  as  ends 
in  themselves.  The  one  thing  he  is  driving 
at  is  to  sway  us  away  from  God's  plan 
by  little  or  by  much.  It  is  a  cunning  dis- 
guise. 

Hiding  Behind  Men. 

Then  mark  that  the  tempter  disguises  his  ap- 
proach to  us  behind  men.  I  do  not  mean  bad 
men  necessarily.  I  mean  that  quite  uncon- 
sciously to  themselves  he  uses  good  men  in  ways 
that  will  work  out  his  purposes.  That  word 
"  unconsciously  "  should  be  underscored.    There 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  213 

are  four  illustrations  of  this  sort  of  thing  in  the 
Hfe  of  our  Lord  Jesus. 

The  first  is  the  coming  to  Him  of  His  mother 
and  brethren  to  seek  an  interview  while  He  is 
in  the  midst  of  teaching  the  multitude/  It 
seems  to  be  a  strange  incident.  It  occurs  at 
the  time  when  the  opposition  to  Him  by  the 
Jerusalem  leaders  had  reached  the  aggressive 
stage.  They  were  following  Him  up  into  Gali- 
lee, hounding  His  steps,  and  trying  by  every 
sort  of  means  to  hinder  and,  if  possible,  stop 
His  work.  Their  opposition  had  reached  the 
point  of  danger  to  Him.  For  a  second  time  it 
is  said  that  He  "  withdrew  "  from  the  area  of 
their  activity.  That  word  "  withdrew  "  is  a  sig- 
nificant one,  indicating  the  seriousness  of  the 
danger  threatening  Him.  The  awful  charge  of 
Satanic  collusion  had  been  made  against  Him. 
This  setting  of  the  story  should  be  kept  in  mind. 
One  day  as  He  is  teaching  in  the  midst  of  a 
great  crowd  an  interruption  occurs.  Strangely 
enough  it  is  a  message  sent  in  to  Him  that  His 
mother  and  brethren  are  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
crowd  and  desire  an  interview.  It  is  wholly 
probable  from  the  records  that  they  had  free 
access  to  Him  ordinarily,  when  they  were  where 
He  was.  Why  this  unexpected  breaking  in  while 
He  is  at  His  work?  It  looks  very  much  as 
though  the  leaders  had  been  cunningly  working 
*  Matthew  xii.  46-50;  Mark  iii.  31-35;  Luke  viii.  19-21. 


214    Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

upon  her  mother  heart.  They  would  use  her 
influence  to  side-track  Him.  Surely  such  a  fine- 
grained man  as  He  clearly  is  will  be  open  to 
His  mother's  influences  and  to  her  fears  and 
wishes.  It  was  an  appeal  to  a  natural  love. 
It  touched  the  tenderest  earthly  tie  our  Master 
had.  He  revealed  a  tender  solicitude  for  His 
mother  amid  the  pain  and  distress  of  hanging 
upon  the  cross. 

It  looks  very  much  like  an  approach  by  the 
tempter  behind  the  tender  relation  existing  be- 
tween Him  and  His  mother.  She,  of  course, 
would  be  wholly  unconscious  that  it  was  so. 
Only  so  can  His  words  in  reply  to  the  request 
be  fully  understood,  "  Who  is  my  mother  ?  "  and 
so  on.  He  evidently  recognized  the  interrup- 
tion as  something  serious.  His  reply  in  effect 
is  this:  "My  mission  is  not  subject  to  earthly 
human  ties,  even  though  as  tender  as  that  of 
a  mother.  My  relation  to  my  Father  is  the 
one  controlling  purpose  and  passion  of  my  life." 
The  doing  of  the  Father's  will  was  higher  than 
any  human  tie  or  relationship.  It  is  not  the 
first  time,  nor  the  last,  that  the  tempter  has  come 
behind  the  sacred,  tender  tie  of  kinship. 

The  second  of  these  is  the  story  of  the  en- 
thusiastic multitudes  over  this  Man,  who  could 
supply   bread   enough   for   their   hunger.'      The 

*John  vi.  1-15;  with  Matthew  xiv.  13-22;  Mark  vi. 
30-45. 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  215! 

violent  taking  off  of  His  Herald,  John,  led  Jesus 
to  seek  a  bit  of  quiet  solitude  for  prayer  and 
thinking.  The  end  was  drawing  sharply  nearef 
in  this  event.  The  multitudes  invade  His  pri- 
vacy. He  patiently  teaches,  and  then  feeds  the 
vast  crowd  with  the  few  loaves  and  fishes.  The 
crowd  is  completely  swept  off  its  feet  by  His 
graciousness  and  power,  and  by  the  sense  of 
inner  physical  comfort.  Their  leaders  seem  to 
have  actually  conferred  with  the  disciples,  and 
to  have  gotten  their  consent  to  the  proposed 
plan  of  making  Jesus  King.  For  the  Master 
was  compelled  to  "  constrain  "  them  to  get  into 
the  boat  and  leave.' 

They  propose  a  great  popular  uprising  to  pro- 
claim Jesus  King.  It  may  seem  to  us  like  an 
immature,  weak  movement.  Yet,  if  such  a  thing 
can  be  imagined  as  our  Lord  taking  advantage 
of  such  a  thing,  it  would  have  undoubtedly  be- 
come a  most  formidable  movement.  At  any 
rate  it  was  clearly  a  repetition  of  the  old  Wil- 
derness temptation  of  world-wide  dominion 
without  suffering.  Many  a  Christian  leader  has 
yielded  to  that  sort  of  a  temptation.  All  un- 
consciously to  themselves,  the  tempter  was  com- 
ing up  behind  these  multitudes  in  their  pathetic 
need,  with  the  old  temptation  under  new  guise. 
*  Matthew  xiv.  22. 


2i6     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

The  Subtlest  yet. 

The  third  of  these  is  when  our  Lord  first 
tells  the  inner  circle  of  the  awful  experiences 
ahead  to  which  He  would  yield/  Peter  is 
startled  and  strenuously  objects.  He  has  the 
boldness  or  foolhardiness  to  "  rebuke  "  our  Lord. 
In  impetuous,  startled  speech  he  blurts  out, 
*'  This  be  far  from  Thee."  His  strenuous  ob- 
jection raises  the  whole  question  of  a  kingdom 
without  sacrifice,  of  victory  without  suffering. 
It  made  the  road  harder  to  travel.  The  awful 
sharpness  of  the  experiences  which  the  Master 
plainly  sees  before  Him  is  made  to  stand  out 
with  more  painful  clearness.  It  is  hard  to 
have  one  of  the  inner  circle  of  His  chosen 
band,  dear,  impulsive  Peter,  try  to  block  the 
way  that  is  clearly  the  Father's  way  for 
Him.  And  the  Master  plainly  felt  all  of 
this. 

The  sharpness  of  His  reply,  the  blunt  plain- 
ness of  His  ''  get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  re- 
veals at  once  how  real  was  the  struggle  of  soul, 
as  He  unhesitatingly  presses  on  in  the  way 
marked  out  for  Him.  Here  is  it  plain  that  the 
tempter  was  coming  behind  the  warm  heart,  and 
impulsive  judgment  of  Peter,  who  was  quite 
unconscious  of  how  he  was  being  used.  The 
tempter  would  make  the  way  just  as  hard  as 
^Matthew  xvi.  21-27. 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  217 

he  could.  The  very  boldness  of  these  dis- 
guises is  nothing  short  of  startling. 

The  last  of  these  illustrations  is  perhaps  the 
most  subtle  and  telling  of  the  four.  It  came 
within  the  last  week.  It  is  the  story  of  the 
Greeks'  request.^  Whether  they  were  actual 
Greeks,  or  from  a  Greek-speaking  people  of 
some  other  nationality,  or  merely  representa- 
tives of  a  non-Jewish  people,  matters  not.  They 
were  the  outside  non-Jewish  world  coming 
eagerly  and  earnestly  to  our  Lord.  The  Jewish 
door  was  in  its  last  stage  of  shutting  against 
Him.  Here  was  the  door  into  the  whole  outer 
world  opening.  And  our  Lord  had  come  for  a 
world.  He  had  not  come  to  Palestine  merely. 
That  was  only  the  doorway  in.  These  earnest 
truth-seekers  opened  to  Him  the  whole  outer 
'world.  He  could  go  to  Athens  and  Corinth. 
And  how  the  Greek  crowds  would  have  yielded 
to  His  sway.  But  He  knew  well  that  only  by 
the  red  road  of  Joseph's  tomb  could  He  reach 
Greeks  and  all  the  world,  in  the  way  His  Father 
had  planned. 

The  language  He  used  shows,  with  pathetic 
intensity,  how  real  was  the  struggle  of  soul  of 
this  Man,  now  within  a  few  days  of  the  Cross. 
Listen :  "  Now  is  my  soul  troubled.  And  what 
shall  I  say  ?  Shall  I  say,  '  Father,  save  me  from 
this  hour  '  ?  No,  I  cannot  say  that,  for  for  this 
*John  xii.  20-28. 


2i8     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

cause  came  I  unto  this  hour.  This  is  what  I 
will  say,  *  Father,  glorify  Thy  name,  even  though 
it  mean  a  cross  for  me.' "  It  was  a  sore  hour. 
It  was  a  real  temptation.  Saying  *'  no "  to 
these  earnest  Greek  inquirers  was  one  of  the 
hardest  things  the  Master  ever  did.  It  is  still 
one  of  the  hardest  things  for  some  of  His  fol- 
lowers to  do.  The  tempter  was  making  one  of 
his  subtlest,  strongest  approaches  behind  these 
earnest  seekers,  with  their  plea  for  light  and 
help,  all  unconscious  as  they  were  of  how  they 
were  being  used. 

These  incidents  show  up  at  once  how  subtle 
and  how  bold  the  tempter  is  in  the  disguises  be- 
hind which  he  seeks  to  hide  his  approaches — a 
tender-hearted  mother,  a  warm-hearted  friend 
and  follower,  an  enthusiastic  admiring  clamorous 
crowd,  earnest  seekers  after  truth.  How  diffi- 
cult such  pleas  are  to  turn  aside  our  own  hearts 
and  experiences  tell  us,  in  some  part. 

Our  Lord  detected  the  presence  of  the  tempter 
behind  each.  With  all  His  tender-heartedness 
for  His  mother.  His  love  for  dear  Peter,  His 
heart-moving  compassion  for  the  multitudes,  and 
His  quick  response  at  all  times  to  earnest  seek- 
ers after  light.  He  still  saw  that  the  Father's 
path  led  Him  quite  aside  from  these. 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  219 

The  ''  Angel-of-Light"  Disguise. 

The  tempter  has  a  third  way  of  hiding  his 
approach  to  us.  It  is  so  strange  and  bold  as 
to  make  it  seem  almost  blasphemous  even  to  re- 
peat it.  He  hides  behind  God!  That  is  to  say, 
he  pretends  to  be  God's  own  messenger.  Paul's 
way  of  saying  it  is  that  he  "  fashioneth  himself 
into  an  angel  of  light."  ^  The  boldness  and 
subtlety  of  this  reveals  the  desperateness  of  the 
tempter.  It  reveals,  too,  the  reality  and  des- 
perateness of  the  fight  that  is  on.  It  is  a  real 
fight;  no  mere  make-beheve. 

The  tempter  will  come  to  us  under  pretence 
of  being  God's  messenger,  or  of  being  God  Him- 
self. That  is  to  say,  he  will,  for  example,  quote 
some  bit  of  God's  Word,  so  thinking  to  make 
us  think  it  is  God  who  is  speaking.  It  is  true 
that  the  quotation  is  quite  apt  to  be  a  mis-quota- 
tion, or  a  partial  quotation,  or  a  bit  taken  quite 
out  of  its  setting,  and  so  away  from  its  true 
meaning.  But  it  is  also  true  that  these  quota- 
tions of  his  are  accepted  by  great  numbers,  who 
do  not  recognize  the  personality  of  the  quoter. 

Then,  in  addition  to  this  is  the  other  method 
of  clothing  his  suggestions  in  religious  phrase- 
ology. There  is  an  intermingling  of  enough  that 
is  true  and  good  with  what  is  bad  and  not  true, 
as  to  give  the  impression  that  all  is  good.  The 
*2  Corinthians  xi.  14. 


220     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

impression  he  seeks  to  give  is  that  it  is  God 
Himself  who  is  talking  to  us,  and  so  the  im- 
pression that  in  adopting  and  following  his  sug- 
gestion we  are  really  doing  the  thing  God  wants 
done.  This  may  be  called  the  religious  tempta- 
tion. It  is  his  favourite  way  of  approach  to 
earnest,  godly  people. 

It  is  most  interesting  that  he  used  this  dis- 
guise with  our  Lord.  In  the  Wilderness  he 
preached  the  Gospel  of  trust  in  God.  He  said, 
"  Cast  Thyself  down.  Trust  God.  He  has  said 
He  will  give  His  angels  charge  over  Thee,  and 
in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up  lest  thou 
dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone."  Was  ever 
preaching  more  plausible  in  sound !  And  was 
a  bit  of  God's  Word  ever  more  pushed  out  of 
its  meaning  in  application! 

Yet  the  recognition  of  this  guise  is  really  not 
difficult.  For  in  it  the  tempter  is  always  sug- 
gesting something  a  little  extreme.  The  method 
is  really  to  make  some  extreme  or  unwarranted 
application  of  what  the  Word  teaches.  And 
this,  be  it  keenly  noted,  is  one  of  the  sure  touch- 
stones by  which  to  test  his  temptations,  as  we 
shall  see  a  little  later. 

It  may  help  to  look  at  a  few  of  his  favourite 
temptations  under  this  disguise.  We  are  taught 
in  Scripture  to  yield  glad  submission  to  God's 
will  for  our  lives.  There  has  been  much  preach- 
ing of  this  blessed  truth  of  late  years.     And 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  221 

many  have  sought  to  make  this  the  controlling 
purpose  in  their  lives. 

The  tempter's  perversion  of  this  is  that  we 
are  to  yield  to  whatever  comes  to  us,  as  being 
the  will  of  God  for  us.  Under  that  disguise  he 
would  lead  us  to  accept  as  God's  will  much  that 
he  himself — the  tempter — sends.  The  true  spirit 
of  submission  is  an  intelligent  discerning  of  what 
God's  will  for  us  is,  and  then  a  glad  acceptance 
of  it.  The  tempter's  counterfeit  is  that  we 
should  blindly  accept  whatever  comes,  as  being 
God's  will  because  it  has  come.  So  he  would 
get  us  to  accept  his  own  doings  under  the  sup- 
position that  we  are  yielding  to  God's  will. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  misfortune,  and 
disease,  and  mental  depression  that  is  so  ac- 
cepted. Whereas  if  there  were  a  prayerful  dis- 
cerning of  what  is  God's  will,  and  what  is  not, 
much  that  comes  would  be  steadily  resisted,  as 
an  evil  thing,  in  our  Lord  Jesus'  Name,  and  so 
deliverance  would  come  from  it.  The  Master's 
word  to  "  watch  "  as  well  as  "  pray,"  if  used 
more  faithfully  and  intelligently,  would  help 
greatly.  We  would  find  freedom  from  much 
that  has  mistakenly  been  accepted  as  from  God. 

Good,  or  God's  Will. 


A  second  perversion  of  this  sort  is  in  connec- 
tion   with    Christian    service.      There    is   much 


222     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

Christian  service  that  is  done  merely  because  it 
is  a  good  thing  to  do.  The  purpose  to  **  do 
good  "  is  the  controlling  thought.  The  true  con- 
trolling purpose  in  service  should  not  be  to  do 
good  simply,  but  to  do  God's  will.  Doing  God's 
will  is  always  good.  But  doing  something  that 
is  good  may  not  be  doing  the  thing  that  God 
has  planned  for  us  to  do.  There  is  a  Lord  to 
the  harvest.  We  are  not  to  start  in  doing  the 
thing  that  strikes  us  as  being  a  good  thing  to 
do.  We  are  to  find  out  the  plan  of  the  Lord, 
and  fit  into  that.  A  vast  amount  of  hit-or-miss 
work,  and  a  vast  amount  of  strength,  would  be 
turned  to  much  better  account  if  this  "  do  good  " 
fallacy  were  exploded. 

Speaking  broadly  it  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  doing  good  for  our  Lord  to  have  met  those 
Greeks,  and  gone  with  them  to  their  people  to 
teach  about  the  true  God,  and  to  heal  their  sick, 
and  so  on.  But  we  know  so  well  that  that  was 
not  God's  will   for  Him. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  at  one  time  was  urged  to  ac- 
cept an  invitation  to  preach  at  a  certain  place. 
And  in  pressing  the  invitation  it  was  stated  that 
he  would  have  the  opportunity  of  speaking  to 
a  very  large  audience  of  many  thousands,  includ- 
ing very  influential  people.  His  quiet  reply,  as 
he  declined  going,  was  that  he  was  not  ambi- 
tious to  preach  to  thousands,  but  only  to  do 
the  will  of  God. 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  223 

God  guides  the  prayerful  man  to  discern  what 
His  will  of  service  for  him  is.  But  this  thing 
of  merely  doing  good  rather  than  discerning  the 
good  that  is  also  God's  plan  for  us,  has  ever  been 
one  of  the  tempter's  favourite  temptations  with 
religious  folk.  We  should  frequently  recall  the 
lines  that  run: — 

"  More  anxious  not  to  serve  Thee  much ; 
But  please  Thee  perfectly." 

A  third  "  Angel-of-light "  disguise  is  regard- 
ing that  very  sensitive  stuff  called  money.  The 
Jews  were  required  to  pay  a  tenth  of  all  into 
God's  treasury.  And  the  giving  of  a  tenth  has 
been  widely  advocated  as  the  standard  of  giv- 
ing for  Christians.  It  is  a  standard  of  giving 
that  has  been  followed  by  many,  and  has  brought 
great  blessing  to  the  givers,  and  loosened  out 
much  money  for  God's  work.  If  the  whole 
Church  membership  could  be  brought  up  to  this 
standard  the  Lord's  work  would  be  revolution- 
ized in  the  funds  that  would  be  loosened  out 
for  use,  and  immense  blessing  would  follow  to 
the  Church  itself. 

That  is  all  true.  But  there  is  more  yet  to  be 
said  that  is  true  also,  and  that  more  gives  an 
utter  change  of  view.  The  giving  of  a  tenth  has 
been  taken  to  mean  that  we  are  fully  discharging 
the  love  obligation  laid  upon  us  by  giving  only^ 


2  24     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

a  tenth.  The  Jew  practically  was  taxed  a  tenth ; 
the  giving  was  not  voluntary ;  it  was  compulsory. 
The  Christian  is  not  under  any  such  law  of  com- 
pulsion. Pie  is  left  free  to  do  as  his  heart  moves 
him,  with  very  strong  motives  brought  to  play 
upon  his  heart  action.  The  Jew  had  much  less 
of  light,  and  privilege,  and  fulness  of  blessing 
than  the  Christian. 


The  Jcsiis-passion  in  Control. 

The  tenth  is  an  Old  Testament  standard.  But 
we  are  living  in  the  New  Testament  floodlight. 
The  New  Testament  standard,  in  effect,  is  this: 
that  everything  we  have  is  to  be  controlled  by 
the  one  purpose  of  telling  i.'\  the  world  of  our 
Lord  Jesus.  That  is  the  passion  of  our  Lord's 
heart,  and  is  to  be  the  passion  of  ours,  too,  as 
we  follow  Him.  Under  this  light  we  are  to 
retain  what  our  needs  call  for,  that  being  left 
wholly  to  our  individual  judgment,  guided  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  to  decide,  and  all  the  rest  is 
to  be  controlled  in  its  use  by  this  passion  of  our 
Lord's  heart. 

There  are  thousands  of  Christians  who  con- 
scientiously give  the  tenth,  and  some  even  a 
larger  fraction  than  this,  and  then  keep  all  the 
rest  for  themselves.  Many  of  them  live  saintly 
lives,  are  devoted  in  their  Christian  service,  but 
live  in  luxury,  and  keep  the  greater  part  of  the 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  225 

year's  income  for  themselves.  Yet  the  millions 
are  without  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  Saviour. 
And  the  one  passionate  desire  of  our  Lord's 
heart  remains  unsatisfied,  and  His  return  is  be- 
ing delayed.  These  people  follow  this  course 
conscientiously.  So  they  have  been  taught  to 
do.  They  are  on  a  higher  plane  of  giving  than 
the  majority  of  Christians.  They  have  not  gone 
past  their  leaders  to  the  Word  itself  for  its  sim- 
ple fuller  teaching. 

The  common  teaching  about  giving  a  tenth  has 
loosened  out  vast  sums,  and,  it  has  been  so  un- 
derstood and  applied,  that  it  has  held  back  far 
vaster  sums  that  the  Lord  meant  should  be  used 
in  making  Him  known,  and  in  bringing  Him 
back.  Giving  a  tenth  has  practically  been  taken 
to  mean  giving  only  a  tenth,  and  that  is  utterly 
opposed  to  the  whole  New  Testament  teaching 
and  spirit. 

It  seems  quite  a  bit  startling  to  say  so,  but 
without  doubt  the  tempter's  purpose  to  keep  the 
millions  in  darkness  has  been  furthered  by  the 
teaching  that  in  giving  a  tenth  we  are  fully  do- 
ing what  our  Lord  expects  of  us.  It  has  been 
one  of  his  subtlest  modern  disguises  in  with- 
holding the  Gospel  of  Christ  from  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  human  race. 

These  suggestions  give  a  little  inkling  into 
the  meaning  hidden  within  that  phrase,  "  An 
angel  of  light."     The  tempter  has  great  power 


2  26     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

of  cunning  in  using  religious  phraseology.  He 
has  fine  skill  in  making  use  of  much  of  the 
commonly  accepted  Christian  teaching  in  fur- 
thering his  own  plans. 


The   "How"   of   Training. 


And  now  we  want  to  talk  together  about  how 
these  disguises  may  be  quickly  and  surely  de- 
tected. And  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  know 
that  even  though  the  disguise  be  ever  so  cun- 
ningly made  up,  it  can  yet  be  easily  detected.  It 
does  not  require  intellectual  wisdom  or  keen- 
ness to  pierce  through  the  most  subtle  disguises. 
The  detection  comes  easily  to  a  heart  kept  in 
tune  with  our  Lord's  heart.  It  comes  through 
a  simple  training  of  the  spirit  and  judgment 
by  the  Word  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

There  are  two  ''  hows  "  in  the  answer.  One 
has  to  do  with  ourselves,  and  the  other  has  to 
do  with  the  tempter.  The  first  is  in  the  train- 
ing of  our  ears  and  eyes  and  touch.  The  second 
is  in  getting  familiar  with  some  of  the  tempter's 
foot-prints. 

First,  the  bit  about  our  training.  The  one 
need  here  is  to  have  keen  ears,  and  keen  eyes, 
and  a  sensitiveness  to  the  evil  one's  presence 
and  touch.  With  these  it  is  very  important  to 
cultivate  a  simple  common  sense,  a  good  poise 
of  judgment.     We  don't  want  to  move   from 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  227 

Faith  Street,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  down  into 
Queer  Street  on  the  slope. 

The  great  thing  here  is  ears  trained  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  Master's  voice  and  the 
tempter's.  Our  Lord  said,  ''  My  sheep  hear  my 
voice."  ^  That  word  "  hear  "  means  recognize. 
The  sheep  were  trained,  by  constant  contact  with 
the  shepherd,  to  recognize  his  voice,  and  to  know 
at  once  the  voice  of  the  pretending  thief.  We 
are  to  be  trained  to  recognize  our  Master's  voice, 
and  to  know  quickly  that  other  voice  that  tries 
to  deceive  us  by  imitating  His.  How  shall  we 
get  this  faculty  of  quick  and  sure  recognition? 

There  are  three  simple,  essentials  here.  They 
can  be  put  very  simply,  and  briefly,  because  they 
have  been  spoken  of  before  in  these  Talks.  The 
first  is  the  act  of  surrender  to  the  mastery  of 
the  Master.  That  is  made  a  practical  thing 
by  the  habit  of  yielding  the  life  to  Him,  as  each 
day  brings  new  light.  Surrendering  is  turning 
every  last  ragged  remnant  of  the  evil  one,  how- 
ever disguised,  out  of  doors.  So  only  can  there 
come  clear  keen  eyes  and  ears  for  his  approach. 
Any  unsurrendered  bit  confuses  both  eyes  and 
ears.    It  blurs  the  moral  sense. 

The  second  essential  is  in  the  daily  quiet 
time,  alone  with  the  Master,  over  His  Word. 
It  must  be  daily.  It  must  be  with  the  Word  it- 
self. It  must  be  quiet,  unhurried,  unflurried 
*John  X.  22- 


228     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

time.  It  must  be  with  the  door  shut,  the  outer 
things  shut  out,  and  one's  self  shut  in  with  the 
Master.  So  the  mind  becomes  informed.  So 
the  judgment  is  enHghtened  and  moulded.  So 
the  whole  being  becomes  saturated  with  God's 
truth.  Through  all  of  this  there  comes  the  sensi- 
ble poised  judgment. 

The  purpose  here  is  not  the  Book  itself,  though 
it  has  the  central  place.  It  is  not  even  for 
prayer,  though  that  will  have  an  absorbing  place. 
It  is  that  through  the  Book,  and  by  means  of 
the  prayer,  we  shall  come  into  direct  touch  with 
the  Lord  Jesus  Himself.  So  the  Book  shall  be 
enlightened  to  us.  So  prayer  shall  be  a  real 
talking  with  Himself.  The  Book  itself  trains 
the  judgment.  The  direct  touch  with  the  Master 
trains  the  spirit. 

The  third  essential  is  habitual  obedience  to 
the  Spirit's  voice  as  He  speaks  to  your  inner- 
most heart  through  His  Word.  Obedience  has 
a  most  direct  influence  on  ears  and  eyes  and 
spirit.  If  you  obey,  your  spirit  senses  become 
keener,  and  more  accurate.  If  you  disobey,  or 
fail  to  obey,  in  something  about  which  you  are 
clear,  at  once  ears  and  eyes  and  spirit  begin  to 
get  confused.  Failure  to  obey  dulls  and  deafens 
the  ears.  Listening  to  what  we  know  is  true, 
but  what  we  won't  obey,  is  ruinous  to  the 
hearing/ 

*  Isaiah  vi.  9-13. 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  229 

Mark  most  keenly  that  the  whole  purpose  here 
is  to  get  trained  spirit  senses,  so  as  to  recog- 
nize surely  God's  voice,  and  to  detect  just  as 
surely  the  imitation  voice  that  comes.  These 
three  things  act  directly  upon  the  spirit  senses. 


The  ''How"  of  Detection. 

Then  there's  a  second  "  how "  of  detection. 
There  are  certain  Satanic  ear-marks  by  which 
his  presence  can  be  detected.  And  with  those 
I  want  to  group  certain  contrasted  marks  of 
God's  presence.  First  is  this:  the  tempter  al- 
ways suggests  doubt  of  God's  love.  The  sug- 
gestion m.ay  come  direct.  Or,  it  may  come  so 
subtly  that  at  first  you  don't  think  of  it  in  that 
way.  But  as  you  notice  keenly  you  find  the  prac- 
tical effect  is  to  make  you  hold  back  because  of 
an  element  of  doubt  about  God.  In  contrast 
with  this,  God's  touch  always  brings  a  quiet, 
confiding  sense  of  trust  in  Himself. 

A  second  sure  ear-mark  is  that  his  suggestion 
is  always  essentially  selfish.  It  may  not  seem 
so  on  the  surface.  But  if,  when  sifted  down, 
it  proves  to  be  so,  it  may  safely  be  put  to  the 
tempter's  account.  He  is  very  subtle  here.  The 
suggestion  to  our  Lord  behind  Peter's  objection, 
behind  the  Greeks'  request,  and  behind  the 
bread-filled  multitudes,  was  the  same — namely, 
that  so  He  could  be  saved  from  the  suffering 


230     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

otherwise  involved.  In  contrast  with  this,  God's 
touch  always  gives  a  passion  for  Himself.  And 
that  passion  pushes  self  clear  out,  so  far  as 
it  may  hinder  God's  plan. 

A  third  ear-mark:  the  tempter  is  apt  to  be  in 
a  hurry.  He  may  at  times  worry  you  by  a  slow, 
dragging  process  when  that  suits  his  purposes. 
But  he  is  more  likely  to  try  to  rush  you  off  your 
feet  with  a  sudden  quick  movement.  He  showed 
our  Lord  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  "  in  a 
moment  of  time."  '  That  may  be  conceded  to 
be  pretty  swift  work.  He  is  fond  of  sudden 
moves  and  of  rushing  tactics.  The  serpent's 
voice  in  Eden  kept  egging  Eve  on  to  action.  In 
contrast  with  this,  note  that  God  never  moves 
in  a  hurry.  He  may  move  swiftly,  but  never 
hurriedly  nor  hastily.  There's  a  quiet  steady 
on-moving  when  He  is  guiding. 

Close  up  to  that  comes  this  fourth  ear-mark: 
the  tempter's  suggestions  are  apt  to  make  one 
feverish.  This  is  a  sure  test  for  ambitious  plans. 
Any  trace  or  taint  of  fever  produced  is  a  pretty 
sure  indication  of  the  tempter's  presence.  In 
sharp  contrast  with  this,  God's  touch  always 
makes  us  quiet  and  clear  and  deliberate.  Our 
Master's  touch  still  has  the  same  power  and  ef- 
fect as  when  He  touched  the  hand  of  Peter's 
wife's  mother;  the  fever  leaves. 

A  fifth  ear-mark:  the  tempter  is  fond  of  flat- 
*  Luke  iv.  5. 


The  Tempter's  Disguises  231 

taring  you.  There  was  the  touch  of  flattery  in 
the  Wilderness  suggestion  that  our  Lord  make 
bread  out  of  the  stones.  He  could  make  bread 
out  of  stones,  had  He  been  so  led.  Such  a  re- 
minder of  one's  power  has  the  touch  of  flattery 
in  it.  This  is  a  sure  ear-mark.  It  never  fails 
to  tell  his  presence.  In  contrast  with  this,  note 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  never  flatters.  He  may  lead 
us  to  recognize  properly  what  strength  we  have, 
or  what  gifts  we  have  been  entrusted  with.  But 
with  that  is  always  the  reminding  sense  that 
these  are  from  God,  and  are  to  be  used  as  a 
trust,  and  farther  that  they  are  not  used  up  to 
their  best  possible  limit  save  as  they  are  played 
upon,  and  permeated  by  His  Spirit. 

Then  the  tempter  has  rare  power  of  produc- 
ing a  sense  of  fear.  He  makes  us  afraid.  We 
hold  back  because  of  a  sense  of  dread.  Much 
has  already  been  said  of  this.  The  fear  that  is 
afraid  is  a  sure  index  finger  pointing  to  the 
unseen  tempter  or  one  of  his  subs.  Contrasted 
with  this  is  the  fact,  just  as  sure,  that  God's 
touch  and  voice  bring  a  sense  of  quiet  confi- 
dence in  Him.  His  presence  recognized  brings 
a  touch  of  awe,  always,  but  never  of  fear.  When 
He  speaks  we  are  willing  to  undertake  the  im- 
possible, to  dare  and  to  endure,  with  equal  con- 
fidence in  the  outcome. 

Another  unfailing  ear-mark  of  the  tempter's 
presence  is  a  sense  of  depression,  either  mental 


232     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

or  of  spirit.  There  may  be  much  depression  of 
this  sort  due  to  over-tired  nerves.  And  then, 
simple  food,  fresh  air,  enough  sleep  and  exer- 
cise, and  the  grip  of  a  strong  purpose,  will  play 
a  big  part  in  straightening  out.  But  depression 
is  one  of  the  sure  ear-marks  of  the  tempter's  at- 
tack, especially  with  earnest,  godly  people.  But 
when  God's  presence  has  sweep  there  is  peace 
and  joy.  These  are  characteristic  of  Him.  "  The 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace.   .    .    ."* 

The  last  ear-mark  to  be  spoken  of  here  is 
one  that  should  be  noted  keenly,  and  emphasized 
much.  The  tempter  is  fond  of  extremes.  He 
pushes  things  out  of  their  right  relations.  A 
right  thing  pushed  out  of  its  right  place  is  quite 
apt  to  become  a  wrong  thing.  He  likes  the  pen- 
dulum swing,  first  this  extreme,  then  the  very 
opposite.  Truth  out  of  right  relation  becomes 
error.  Truth  is  fact  held  in  right  relation  with 
the  whole  circle  of  related  truth.  The  great 
theological  controversies  that  have  split  the 
Church  of  Christ  up  so  sorely  have  been  largely 
due  to  an  undue  emphasis  upon  some  phase  of 
truth,  pushed  out  of  its  due  relation  to  other 
truth.  And  they  have  usually  been  settled  by 
the  same  sort  of  undue  emphasis.  The  creeds 
of  Christendom  bear  witness  to  this. 

The  precious  Cross  of  Christ  through  which 
we  are  saved  can  be  degenerated  into  a  mere 
*Galatians  v.  22. 


The  Tempter^s  Disguises  233 

superstitious  fetish.  The  blessed  teaching  of 
our  Lord's  second  coming  can  be  pushed  to 
the  extreme  of  calendar  making,  and  of  white- 
robed  people  waiting  up  all  night  on  the  top 
of  some  hill.  And  so  the  sweet  truth  itself  is 
brought  into  contempt.  Error  is  flashy  and 
spectacular  and  erratic.  Truth  loves  the  quiet 
Quaker  garb  and  speech.  In  contrast  with  this, 
it  is  worthy  of  special  emphasis  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  a  spirit  of  sanity.  No  one  is  so  poised 
and  sane  in  his  judgment  and  actions  as  the 
man  who  is  swayed  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

These  are  some  of  the  ear-marks  by  which 
the  tempter's  suggestion  may  be  tested.  Yet, 
remem.ber,  we  are  not  to  be  going  about  eyeing 
suspiciously  everybody  we  meet.  Let  us  quietly, 
steadily  go  on  the  way  the  Master  points  out 
for  us,  with  our  face  ever  turned  toward  His, 
our  hearts  ever  in  tune  with  His  own,  and  our 
hands  stretched  out  in  glad,  warm  service  among 
the  needy.  And  the  Master  will  guide  us  safely 
past  snares  as  we  keep  close  to  Him,  and  push 
on  in  His  way. 


AUTHORITY  TO  TAKE  POSSES- 
SION OF  WHAT  HAS  BEEN  EE- 
DEEMED   FROM  THE  ENEMY 

A  New  Spelling. 


The  defeat  of  the  enemy  gives  a  new  power 
to  prayer.  The  victory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  gives 
a  new  meaning  to  prayer.  That  newness  of 
power  and  meaning  can  best  be  told  by  a  new 
spelling  of  the  word  ''  ask."  *'  Ask  '*  is  one  of 
the  great  Scripture  keywords  for  prayer. 

Six  times  over  on  that  night  in  which  He 
was  so  basely  betrayed,  our  Lord  used  that  word 
"  ask  "  in  talking  with  the  inner  circle.  "  What- 
soever ye  shall  ask  in  My  name,  that  will  I  do.'* 
"  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  My  name,  that  will 
I  do."  ''  If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide 
in  you,  ask."  "  Ye  did  not  choose  Me,  but  I 
chose  you,  and  appointed  you,  that  ye  should  go 
and  bear  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should 
abide ;  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask."  "  If  ye 
shall  ask  anything."  "  Ye  shall  ask  in  My 
name."  ^ 

Now,  there  is  a  new   spelling  of  that  little 

*  John  xiv.  13,  14;  XV.  7,  16;  xvi.  23,  26. 
234 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy        235 

word.  It  is  given  to  us  by  our  Lord  Jesus.  It 
is  not  spoken  by  His  lips,  but  spelled  out  for 
us  by  what  He  did  in  defeating  the  tempter.  It 
is  of  immense  importance  to  us  that  we  get  this 
new  spelling  clearly  in  our  minds  and  hearts. 
For  if  we  do  it  will  mean  new  praying,  and 
greater  results  in  our  praying. 

The  new  spelling  is  t-a-k-e.  That  is  the  Mas- 
ter's spelling.  It  is  the  spelling  of  His  life,  and 
of  His  Calvary  death,  and  of  that  great  Third 
Morning  after.  That  new  spelling  puts  the 
whole  matter  of  prayer  in  a  new  light,  the  bright 
light  of  our  Lord's  victory.  The  old  spelling 
is  a-s-k.  The  difference  between  the  two  is 
sharply  marked.  We  usually  think  of  "  ask " 
in  connection  with  a  favour  which  we  desire.  It 
may  be  granted.  We  hope  it  will  be.  But  with 
it,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  goes  the  impres- 
sion of  pleading,  and  persistent  repetition. 
Coupled  with  that  is  earnest  desire  and  longing, 
and  also  an  element  of  uncertainty,  which  we 
attempt,  more  or  less,  to  get  rid  of. 

The  word  ''  take  "  suggests  at  once  that  the 
thing  in  question  belongs  to  you  by  right,  rather 
than  as  a  favour  you  are  desiring.  It  sup- 
poses that  we  have  a  real  right  to  this  thing 
we  are  wanting  to  get  possession  of.  It  is  ours 
in  fact,  though  not  ours  in  actual  possession; 
so  we  reach  out  a  hand  to  grasp  it,  and  so  to 
know  by  the   feel   that  we  have  it.     "  Take " 


236     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

suggests  a  check  presented  at  the  teller's  counter 
of  a  bank  where  you  have  deposited  funds.  The 
check  becomes  a  demand.  You  call  for  what 
is  your  own. 

If  it  be  true  that  we  may  properly  get  some- 
thing of  this  sort  into  our  praying  it  will  surely 
make  a  great  difference  in  our  prayers,  and  in 
the  spirit  of  confidence  with  which  we  will  pray. 
May  we  indeed  use  this  word  "  take "  where 
we  have  been  using  "  ask  "  ? 

Five  Facts. 


Well,  there  are  five  simple  facts  which,  I 
think,  will  make  it  quite  clear  that  we  may,  and 
if  we  may  surely  we  should,  and  surely  we  will. 
The  first  link  in  the  chain  is  this:  when  God 
made  man  in  His  own  image  He  gave  him  mas- 
tery over  the  earth."  He  was  made  God's  under- 
master  over  all  the  creation,  and  over  all  the 
forces  of  nature.  Man  was  created  a  prince. 
He  was  born  to  rule.  That  was  God's  wondrous 
love-plan  for  man. 

The  second  bit  to  note  is  that  man  lost  that 
mastery  through  disobedience.  It  is  a  primary 
law  in  God's  world  that  what  He  gives  is  held 
only  through  obedience.  Disobedience  demits 
the  title.  Possession  is  kept  only  through  full 
obedience  to  the  trust-deed.  That  is  an  abso- 
^  Genesis  i.  26-28;  Psalm  viii.  4-8 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy        237 

lute  law  of  holding  what  has  been  given  to  us 
by  God.  Obedience  keepeth  the  title  intact;  dis- 
obedience breaks  it  at  once.  Man  was  subtly 
tempted  to  disobey.  This  was  the  tempter's 
whole  thought.  Man  yielded.  He  disobeyed. 
In  that  he  lost  title  to  the  dominion  with  which 
he  had  been  endowed.  Instead  of  being  a  mas- 
ter over  the  earth,  he  has  been,  in  the  main,  a 
slave  upon  the  earth. 

The  third  link  is  this:  man  transferred  that 
mastery  or  dominion  to  the  one  to  whom  he 
yielded  obedience.  He  obeyed  the  evil  one.  In 
that  obedience  he  became  his  vassal,  his  slave. 
"  His  servants  ye  are  whom  ye  obey."  '  Our 
Lord  speaks  of  the  tempter  as  the  "  prince  of 
this  world."  But  we  do  well  to  remember  just 
what  that  means.  He  is  the  prince,  but  not  the 
rightful  prince.  He  himself  has  been  untrue  to 
God,  and  so  lost  his  title  to  what  was  given  him. 
He  is  a  traitor-prince.  He  deceived  man  into 
that  initial  act  of  obedience  to  himself,  and  dis- 
obedience to  God.  So  he  became  a  usurper- 
prince.  But  the  word  "  prince  "  stands  out  in 
both  combinations.  Though  he  is  a  traitor- 
prince,  and  a  usurper-prince,  he  is  still  prince 
of  this  world.  Man's  obedience  to  him  gave  him 
an  actual  hold,  and  a  strong  hold  too,  upon  this 
earth,  and  all  of  its  life. 

The  fourth  fact  lets  in  a  bit  of  glad,  golden 
*  Romans  vi.  16. 


238     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

light.  The  Lord  Jesus  came.  He  was  given 
the  mastery  of  the  earth,  and  of  all  things,  down 
here,  all  afresh,  by  the  Father,  even  as  Adam 
had  been.  He  Himself  said  ''  all  things  have 
been  delivered  unto  me  of  My  Father."  '  That 
truth  is  repeated  over  three  times  in  John's 
Gospel.*  He  was  the  new  Master  of  all 
things  down  here.  But  He  could  hold  His 
mastery  only  by  obedience.  He  was  not  an 
exception  to  this  law  of  title-holding.  He 
could  not  be.  Obedience  is  an  inherent  law 
of  life. 

The  great  fact  about  our  Lord  that  stands 
out  in  brightest  light  is  that  He  was  obedient. 
This  was  the  touchstone  of  all  His  life.  He 
obeyed,*  even  unto  death,  aye,  the  worst  sort 
of  death,  that  of  the  Cross.  Without  question 
the  one  thing  the  tempter  aimed  at  all  those 
thirty-odd  years  was  to  make  obedience  by  Jesus 
just  as  hard  as  possible,  in  the  hope  of  diverting 
Him  from  that  narrow  path.  But  our  Lord  re- 
mained true.  He  held  the  title  to  all  things  by 
His  perfect  obedience. 

Then  when  He  went  back  home  again  that 
title  was  confirmed  to  Him.  He  was  seated 
"  far  above  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power, 
and  every  name  that  is  named  not  only  in  this 

*  Matthew  xi.  27. 

'John  iii.  35;  xiii.  3;  xvii.  2. 

•Philippians  ii.  8;  Hebrews  v.  8;  Romans  v.  ig. 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy        239 

world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come."  *  Mas- 
tery over  all  things  pertaining  to  the  earth  was 
given  Him  by  the  Father.  It  was  held  by  Him 
through  perfect  obedience.  It  was  confirmed  to 
Him  on  His  return  home.  That's  the  fourth 
great  link  in  this  "  take  "  chain. 

And  the  fifth  is  this :  He  did  all  of  this  on  our 
account.  It  was  because  we  failed  that  He  came. 
He  did  what  we  failed  in.  In  all  that  He  did 
He  was  acting  in  our  stead.  We  love  to  talk 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  as  our  Substitute.  When  He 
climbed  the  Hill  of  the  Cross,  and  poured  out 
His  life  unto  death,  He  was  acting  in  our  place. 
He  was  our  Substitute,  bearing  the  full  brunt 
of  our  sin.  Through  Him,  and  His  precious 
blood,  we  are  set  free.  But  I  think,  we  do  not 
use  that  word  "  Substitute "  as  much  as  we 
should. 


Authorized. 


He  was  a  three-fold  Substitute.  First,  in  His 
life,  by  His  perfect  obedience  in  Nazareth,  and 
on  to  the  end  of  His  life.  He  was  our  Substi- 
tute there.  We  failed  in  obedience.  He  obeyed 
perfectly  in  our  place.  Then  on  the  Cross  He 
was  our  Substitute,  bearing  the  shame  and  death 
that  belonged  to  us.    And  then  on  the  Resurr^c- 

^^  ^Ephesians  i.  20-22;  Philippians  ii.  8-1 1;  Colossians 
ii.  10;  I  Peter  iii.  22. 


240    Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

tion  morning,  He  was  still  acting  for  us  when 
He  arose.  In  all  of  this  He  was  acting  on  our 
behalf. 

I  used  to  wonder  in  my  ignorance  why  our 
Lord  did  not  finish  up  at  once  the  whole  con- 
flict with  the  evil  one.  Why  should  Satan  have 
been  left  free  for  these  two  thousand  years? 
Why  was  he  not  put  finally  out  of  the  way  when 
once  he  had  been  so  disastrously  defeated? 
Well,  the  answer,  after  all,  is  a  very  simple  one, 
and  goes  at  once  to  the  core  of  what  we  are 
talking  about.  If  our  Lord  had  been  acting  on 
His  own  account  simply,  and  only,  the  conflict 
zvotild  have  been  closed  up  at  once,  and  the  de- 
feated never  able  to  do  more. 

But  our  Lord  was  not  acting  for  Himself. 
He  was  acting  for  us.  And  there  is  something 
for  us  to  do  in  settling  the  conflict.  We  must 
accept  as  our  own  what  was  done  for  us.  We 
must  step  in  and  take  possession  of  what  had 
been  our  own  originally,  and  what  is  now  won 
back  for  us.  Our  Master  practically  says, 
"  Take  possession  of  what  I  have  redeemed, 
what  I  have  bought  back  for  you." 

Do  you  remember  that  marvellous  statement 
of  His  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Luke  ? '  That 
is  a  passage  that  ought  to  be  marked  in  our 
Bibles  in  red,  or  in  gold,  or  any  way  that  will 
make  it  stand  out  big  and  plain  to  our  eyes. 
*Luke  X.  18-19. 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy        241 

Listen  to  it  prayerfully,  that  its  tremendous 
meaning  may  come  home  to  our  innermost 
hearts.  "Behold,  I  have  given  you  authority 
to  tread  upon  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  over 
all  the  power  of  the  enemy;  and  nothing  shall 
in  any  wise  hurt  you."  And  in  the  midst  of 
the  glad  rejoicing  that  such  words  must  bring 
He  adds  that  our  chief  rejoicing  is  to  be  over 
what  He  has  done  for  us.  It  is  all  of  His  won- 
drous grace  that  we  have  such  wondrous  power. 

Now,  we  should  use  this  authority  given  to 
us;  use  it  in  Jesus'  great  Name;  use  it  as  the 
Holy  Spirit  guides;  use  it  as  the  need  comes 
in  our  lives,  and  in  the  opposition  that  is 
aroused  by  service.  We  have  authority  to  take 
from  the  enemy  everything  he  is  holding  back. 
The  chief  way  of  taking  is  by  prayer,  and  by 
whatever  action  prayer  leads  us  to.  The  cry 
that  should  be  ringing  out  to-day  is  this  great 
cry  of  "  Take,  in  Jesus'  great  Name." 

In  my  Master's  Name  I  would  speak  out  this 
message  of  His  all  anew  to  every  follower  of 
His  in  any  need  or  stress.  To  those  out  on  the 
far-flung,  thin,  red  firing  line  of  the  foreign 
mission-field,  in  the  midst  of  Africa's  savagery, 
of  China's  opposition  and  apathy,  of  India's  cry- 
ing need,  to  those  in  the  midst  of  London's 
slums  and  streets,  in  the  thick  and  drive  of  New 
York's  push  and  scramble ;  to  any  one  and  every 
one,  wherever  the  stress  of  sin  and  of  need  is 


242     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

being  felt.  This  is  His  message  to  you  to-day. 
Listen  keenly,  *'  I,  Jesus,  have  given  you  author- 
ity over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy.  I  have 
the  authority.  I  have  won  it  by  my  own  life- 
blood.  I  won  it  for  you.  I  give  it  to  you.  Use 
it  in  my  name.  Greater  works  shall  ye  do  be- 
cause I  am  with  the  Father  in  the  place  of 
authority,  and  you  shall  act  in  my  place  even  as 
I  acted  in  your  place." 


Take  Possession. 


This  is  the  word  that  needs  sounding  out  most 
clearly  everywhere  to-day.  Use  the  authority 
the  Master  has  given  you.  Take  whatever  is 
needed  in  His  holy  service.  *'  Every  place  that 
the  sole  of  your  foot  shall  tread  upon,  to  you 
have  I  given  it."  ^  Take  what  the  Master  has 
brought  back  for  us.  Asking  means  taking.  It 
doesn't  mean  pleading  with  God  as  though  to 
persuade  Him.  He  is  more  eager  than  we.  It 
means  claiming  as  our  very  own  whatever  is 
needed.  It  means  taking  possession  by  faith  of 
what  our  great  Captain  has  won  back  for  us. 

The  last  message  of  our  Lord's  lips,  on  Olivet, 
fits  in  here  with  peculiar  power.  Listen :  "  All 
authority  hath  been  given  unto  Me  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.     Go  ye  therefore."  *     That  little 

^Joshua  i.  3. 
2  Matthew  xxviii.  18,  19. 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy        243' 

preposition  "  on  "  in  "  on  the  earth  "  could  ac- 
curately be  made  to  read  "  over."  He  has  been 
given  all  authority  on  the  earth  and  over  the 
earth.  It  is  because  of  that  authority  that  we 
are  bidden  to  "  go."  We  go  because  of  His 
authority.  We  go  authorized  as  His  plenipoten- 
tiaries. That  "  go  "  underlies  all  Christian  serv- 
ice. As  we  ''  go "  we  will  need  not  only 
power  but  authority,  for  every  step  of  our 
ongoing  is  contested.  In  that  authority  we 
are  to  go,  and  to  take  what  is  our  rightful 
possession,  in  the  Name  of  our  Substitute- 
Victor. 

As  your  service  leads  you  on  to  a  bit  of 
ground  that  is  held  by  the  forces  of  evil  re- 
member this;  that  bit  of  ground  belongs  to  man, 
to  be  held  by  him  for  God.  It  has  been  lost 
through  disobedience.  But  it  has  been  won  back 
by  the  Victor.  You  have  the  right  to  step  in 
and  say,  "  I  take,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
I  take  this  bit  of  the  earth  back  for  Him ;  I  take 
the  life  of  this  man,  and  this  man,  for  whom 
my  Master  gave  His  blood." 

But — but  the  taking  must  be  as  deep  as  your 
life;  it  must  be  as  intense  as  the  opposition. 
Satan  is  a  stiff  fighter;  he  doesn't  yield  except 
what  he  must.  The  taking  must  be  definite. 
Prayer  must  always  be  definite.  He  does  not 
yield  until  he  must.  He  is  a  stubborn  fighter. 
Prayer  must  be  persistent.     The  taking  must 


244     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

be  as  insistent  as  the  enemy  is  persistent, 
and  just  a  bit  more;  and  there's  where 
the  fight  comes.  The  man  whom  you  are 
trying  to  win  for  God,  maybe  in  London,  maybe 
your  loved  one,  maybe  in  North  Africa  or  South 
Africa,  wherever  he  is — that  man  whom  you 
would  have  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  he  belongs  to 
Him  through  His  victory.  You  take  him,  in 
Jesus  Christ  the  Victor's  name,  and  insist  on 
taking,  and  the  rest  will  always  come.  The  new 
spelling,  the  Calvary  spelling  of  '"  ask "  is 
T-A-K-E,  take,  in  Jesus  Christ  the  Victor's 
name. 

This  brings  to  us  all  anew  with  fresh  force 
the  old  fact  that  our  Lord  gave  us  the  right  to 
use  His  name.  He  could  have  done  no  greater 
thing.  Using  His  Name  is,  in  effect,  acting  as 
Himself,  clothed  with  all  of  His  power.  But 
it  is  a  serious  thing  to  use  that  Name.  Every 
one  may  not  use  it.  Only  those  who  have  ac- 
cepted His  invitation  into  the  inner  circle  with 
Himself  may  use  it.  You  remember  the  men 
in  that  Ephesus  story  in  the  nineteenth  chapter 
of  Acts.  They  tried  to  use  that  name  for  their 
own  selfish  purposes.  And  the  evil  spirits 
leaped  upon  them  and  left  them  wounded  and 
bleeding.  The  demon  world  knows  full  well 
about  that  Name,  and  its  great  power.  It  is 
feared  there.  And  they  know,  too,  who  may 
use  it. 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy        245 

If  you  will  turn  to  that  last  long  talk*  in 
which  the  Master  gave  us  the  right  to  use  His 
name,  you  will  find  certain  words  occurring  re- 
peatedly. The  words  "  love  "  and  "  obey  "  and 
"  abide "  underlie  the  right  to  use  the  Name. 
Love  obeys.  It  loves  to  obey.  Love  abides. 
The  other  way  of  spelling  abide  is  o-b-e-y.  The 
other  way  of  spelling  love  is  o-b-e-y.  Obedi- 
ence is  the  clear  title  to  the  right  to  use  that 
Name — the  obedience  of  love.  Obey  as  fully 
and  gladly  as  an  obedient  child  obeys.  Hold  the 
whole  life  open  to  the  Master's  touch  and  con- 
trol. Then  you  may  ask  what  you  will.  You 
may  take  what  you  choose.  And  the  usurper 
will  loosen  his  hold,  slowly,  angrily,  but  surely, 
and  you  shall  have  in  actual  possession  what  you 
have  ''  taken  "  by  faith. 

Faith  that  Discerns. 


And  that  word  "  faith "  ought  to  have  an- 
other word,  too.  It  will  help  us  to  remember 
just  what  faith  is,  in  practical  effect.  Faith  is 
knowing  that  our  Lord  Jesus  is  Victor.  That 
is  to  say,  it  is  not  thinking  about  how  much  faith 
you  have.  It  is  thinking  about  Him.  And  it 
is  not  thinking  so  much  about  what  He  will  do. 
It  is  thinking  most  about  what  He  has  done. 
Jesus  Christ  is  Victor.  Faith  is  depending  on 
*John  xiv.-xvi. 


246     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

that,  or,  better  yet,  on  Him.  It  is  not  working 
up  your  feelings,  and  saying,  **  I  must  believe  " ; 
not  that.  It  is  simply  fixing  my  whole  thought 
on  Jesus,  the  Victor.  There  He  is  on  the  throne. 
That  scarred,  crowned,  enthroned  Lord  Jesus — 
I  have  no  doubt  about  Him.  That  is  faith — 
looking  to  Him,  resting  on  what  He  is,  and  what 
he  has  done. 

There's  still  another  simple  word  to  put  in 
here  that  we  may  keep  things  in  poise.  A  "  tak- 
ing "  faith  is  a  discerning  faith.  Those  words 
"  obey  "  and  "  abide  "  point  to  the  close  touch 
with  the  Master  that  lets  us  know  what  His 
plans  are.  The  daily  study  of  His  Word  reveals 
to  us  His  will,  and  trains  us  to  discern  what  His 
particular  will  is  under  the  circumstance  where 
you  must  act.  Abiding  makes  us  keen  to  know 
what  we  may  take.  The  whole  purpose  under- 
neath everything  is  to  get  His  great  loving  will 
done.  There  must  be  a  clear  eye  before  there 
can  be  a  taking  hand. 

As  I  step  quietly  on,  under  the  gracious  guid- 
ance of  His  Spirit,  I  am  to  '*  take  "  what  I  will, 
in  His  Name — Hfe  after  life,  man  after  man, 
gold  after  gold,  strength  renewed  constantly  for 
new  work,  anything  and  everything  that  is 
needed,  and  that  should  be  in  His  service.  And 
because  He  is  Victor,  every  hindrance  must  go, 
and  will  go,  before  the  man  who  presses  for- 
ward where  He  leads  in  His  Name. 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy         247 

Power  in  the  Name. 

Recently  I  was  up  in  Sweden.  Sitting  across 
the  table  from  me  was  a  missionary  from  North 
Africa,  from  Tunis.  One  day  she  told  us  this 
story.  She  had  a  friend,  a  sister  missionary  in 
Algiers.  And  this  sister  missionary  told  her  of 
an  Arab  woman  whom  she  had  won  to  Christ. 
The  Arab  woman  was  a  Mohammedan,  with  all 
the  fanaticism,  ignorance  and  superstition  that 
marks  that  strange  Mohammedan  belief  or  su- 
perstition. This  woman  was  won  for  Christ. 
Her  family  did  their  best  to  sway  her  from  her 
new  faith.  They  coaxed,  pleaded,  argued, 
threatened,  made  her  life  miserable,  but  she 
showed  the  quality  of  her  faith  by  her  firm,  quiet 
stand.  She  could  not  be  moved.  She  knew  she 
was   right. 

Then  they  did  what  is  characteristic  of  that 
people,  they  concocted  a  poison,  very  subtle,  very 
deadly,  and  put  it  into  her  food,  of  course  se- 
cretly. When  she  had  eaten  the  meal  in  which 
the  poison  had  been  introduced,  she  knew 
quickly  what  had  taken  place.  She  felt  the 
poison.  She  knew  full  well  about  the  poison, 
how  deadly  it  was.  She  knew  the  habit  of  her 
people.  As  she  felt  the  thing  in  her  blood,  she 
knew  instantly  what  had  happened.  And  she 
knew  this,  that  through  the  poison  she  was 
doomed  to  death.    She  knew  it.    You  can  fancy 


248     Quiet  Talks  about  the  Tempter 

just  how  she  felt  as  the  poison  worked.  It 
would  make  one  very  irritable  and  mean  in 
spirit,  then  very  dull  in  mind,  then  it  would  af- 
fect the  mind  still  more,  and  then  the  body,  until 
death  would  come.  That  was  the  course  it  usu- 
ally ran.  And  she  was  greatly  startled  and 
greatly  distressed,  and  didn't  know  what  to  do. 

As  she  sat  at  the  table,  I  think  without  plan- 
ning it,  she  commenced  to  repeat  the  Name,  the 
great  Name.  She  could  not  repeat  it  aloud,  for 
that  would  mean  persecution  by  those  around 
her.  And  so  to  herself,  with  all  the  intensity  of 
one  w^ho  felt  the  sentence  of  death  in  her  body, 
she  commenced  to  repeat  that  marvellous  Name 
above  every  name,  "  Jesus !  Jesus!!  Jesus  ! ! !  " 
For  two  days  or  three,  my  friend  was  not  sure 
which,  that  went  on,  and  the  poison  gradually 
receded  from  the  woman's  body,  from  her 
blood,  while  the  family  watched  her  with  strange 
eyes.  This  was  something  new.  The  poison  had 
never  failed  before.     But  it  was  failing. 

And  as  she  herself  told  the  story  to  the  mis- 
sionary, she  said,  "  I  felt  as  though  each  time 
I  said  that  Name  it  was  like  a  wave  of  life 
coming  in ;  and  in  between  like  a  wave  of  death." 
And  the  conflict  between  life  and  death  went  on 
for  those  days,  but  the  death  becoming  less  and 
the  life  more,  until  at  the  end  of  the  second  day 
or  the  third,  she  was  free,  to  their  utter  aston- 
ishment, and  to  her  own  great  joy. 


Redeemed  from  the  Enemy         249 

That  was  a  victory  in  the  body,  a  possible 
thing  as  the  Holy  Spirit  guides.  But  it  is  only 
a  bit  of  the  larger  possibility.  We  have  the 
right,  as  we  are  obedient,  to  use  that  Name.  As 
we  do  use  it,  under  the  Holy  Spirit's  guidance, 
going  step  by  step  as  He  leads,  we  may  take  out 
of  the  hand  of  the  evil  one,  men,  and  women, 
and  property,  and  gold,  and  all  that  we  need, 
because  the  Lord  Jesus  has  said — "  All  author- 
ity hath  been  given  unto  me  over  all  the  earth." 
Shall  we  go  out  and  take,  in  Jesus'  Name,  what 
belongs  to  us  by  the  right  of  His  death  and 
resurrection  ? 


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JOHN  HENRY  JOWBTT 

My  Daily  Meditation  for  the  circling:  Ycai 

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seeks  to  convey  are  so  propounded  as  to  enter  the  under- 
standing of  his  readers  along  a  pathway  of  light.  The  whole 
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book  of  the  sixty-six  has  seemed  so  much  like  a  riddle,  and 
set  so  many  guessing.  Mr.  Gordon,  however,  holds  the  deep 
conviction  that  it  is  wholly  a  practical  book,  and  concerned 
wholly  with  our  practical  daily  lives. 

F.  B.  MEYER,  B.A. 

My  Daily  Prayer 

A  Short  Supplication  for  Every  Day  in  the  Year. 
32mo,  leather,  net  35c ;  cloth,  net  25c. 

"This  is  a  tiny  volume,  in  the  'Yet  Another  Day'  series, 
and  contains  a  brief  prayer  for  each  day  in  the  year.  Some 
of  the  petitions  contain  only  one  sentence,  but  each  one  is 
simple,  pertinent,  and  helpful."— Zton'f  Herald. 

GEORGE  MATHESON 

Day  Unto  Day 

A  Brief  Prayer  for  Every  Day.  New  Edition. 
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These  choice  prayers  will  be  valued  by  the  Christian 
world  for  the  stimulus,  inspiration,  and  wide  spiritual  out- 
look which  have  made  the  memory  of  their  author  a  chef 
ished  possession. 

HENRY  WARD  BEECH ER 

A  Book  of  Public  Prayer 

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"A  distinct  addition  to  our  devotional  literature.  It  is  good 
for  private  reading;  but  would  be  especially  valuable  for 
mfnisters  as  an  aid  to  the  difficult  but  immensely  important, 
S^ia  of  voicing  the  petitions  of  a  congregation  in  pubUa 
prayer." — Stondard. 


BIBLE  STUDY 


PROF:    EDOUARD   NAVILLE,  C.D.L.,  LLP.,  F.R.S. 

Archaeology  of  the  Old  Testament 

Was  the  Old  Testament  Written  in  Hebrew? 
Library  of  Historic  Theology.  8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

Professor  A.  H.  Sayce  says:  "A  very  remarkable  work, 
and  coruing  as  it  does  from  one  of  the  leading  Egypiologists 
of  the  day,  who  is  also  a  practical  archaeologist,  its  argu- 
ments and  conclusions  carry  unusual   weight." 


A,  R.  BUCKLAND,  M. A.    (Editor)        An  EnUr.iy  UnM 

>■ 1 ^  Bible  DUtitnarj 

Universal  Bible  Dictionary 

Large  8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

A  work  prepared  with  the  definite  aim  of  aiding  th«  ordi- 
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ar. It  is  also  arranged  so  as  to  serve  as  an  introduction 
to  systematic  theology  study,  and  contains  extended  arti- 
cles on  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith  by  such 
experienced  teachers  as  Prof.  S.  W.  Green,  Dr.  W.  H. 
Griffith  Thomas,  Principal  Warman,  and  others  of  equal 
standing.  On  questions  of  modern  criticism,  the  general 
exposition  taken  by  the  compilers  is  a  conservative  one,  al- 
though exhaustive  account  has  been  taken  of  the  conclusion 
of  up-to-date  criticism  and  research.  The  volume  extends 
to  about  five  hundred  pages,  and  contains  upwards  of  four 
thousand  five  hundred  articles 


PHILIP    MAURO 

EXPOSITORY  READINGS  IN  THE  EPISTLE 
TO  THE  ROMANS 

God's  Gospel  and  God's  Righteousness 

Romans  I-V.     12mo,  cloth,  net  50c. 

God's  Gift  and  Our  Response 

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God's  Love  and  God's  Children 

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A  helpful  and  clearly-written  body  of  comment  Olt  St. 
Paul's  Letter  to  the  Romans.  The  author  is  a  layman  whoM 
work  is  known  and  valued  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantia 
Mr.'Mauro  does  not  write  for  scholars,  but  for  devout  and 
worshipful  believers — for  men  and  women  whose  faith  i| 
•wople,  yet  grounded  on  the  Word  of  the  laving  God. 


BIBLE  STUDY,  Etc. 


B.  H.  CARROLL,  P.P. 

An  Interpretation  of  the  English  Bible 

Numbers  to  Ruth.        8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.75. 

"These  works  are  designed  especially  for  class  use  in  tke 
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mentary on  the  English  Bible  ever  published,  is  our  sincere 
•oiiTiction." — Baptist  and  Reiiector. 

OTHER  VOLUMES  NOW  READY 
The  Book  of  Revelation.    8vo.  cloth,  net  $1.75. 
The  Book  of  Genesis.    8vo,  cloth,  net  $2.25, 
Exodus  and  Leviticus.    8vo,  cloth,  net  $2.25. 

/.  FRANK  SMITH,    P.P. 


My  Father's  Business—And  Mine 

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Dr.  Smith  devotes  the  earlier  part  of  his  book  to  a  study 
of  Christ's  historic  pronouncement  concerning  His  Father's 
business,  presenting  an  examination  of  the  analogical  content 
of  the  word  "Father,"  and  an  analysis  of  the  Master's  own 
sayings  respecting  His  earthly  mission. 

JOHN  F.    STIRLING  Author  of"  An  Atlas  cfih4 

•  Life  of  Chrisf^ 

An  Atlas  of  the  Acts  and  Epistles 

A  Complete  Outline  of  Apostolic  History,  Show- 
ing the  Details  of  the  Apostles'  Journeys  and  the 
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limp  cloth,  net  40c 

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'The  historical  details  are  presented  in  their  geographical  and 
chronological  setting,  on  a  series  of  specially  drawn  maps,  ta 
that  the  student  may  fellew  easily  the  movements  of  tke 
leading  figures  in  the  growth  of  the  early  church." — Service. 

JESSE  FOREST  SILVER 

The  Lord's  Return 

Seen  in  History  and  in  Scripture  as  Pre-Millennial 
and  Imminent.  With  an  Introduction  by  Bishop 
Wilson  T.  Hogue,  Ph.D.     8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

In   his   latroductory   Preface,    Bishop   Hogue   of  the   Free 
Metho<£st  Church  says:    "An  encyclopedia  of  valuable  iafor- 
condensed  into  a  convenient  hand-book  for  rcadf  ref* 


SERMONS— LECTURtS— ADDRESSES 


JAMES  L.  GORDON,    P.P. 

AU's  Love  Yet  All's  Law 

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ture at  his  command.  A  few  of  the  titles  will  give  an  idea 
of  the  scope  of  his  preaching.  'The  L,aw  of  Truth:  The 
Science  of  Universal  Relationships';  'The  Law  of  Inspiration: 
The  Vitalizing  Power  of  Truth';  'The  Law  of  Vibratian'; 
•The  Law  of  Beauty:  The  Spiritualizing  Power  of  Thought'; 
The  Soul's  Guarantee  of  Immortality." — Christian  Work. 
BISHOP  hRANCIS  J.  McCONNELL         Cole  Lectures 

Personal  Christianity 

Instruments  and  Ends  in  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
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The  latest  volume  of  the  famous  "Cole  Lectures"  delivered 
at  Vanderbilt  University.  The  subjects  are:  I.  The  Per- 
sonal in  Christianity.  II.  The  Instrumental  in  Christianity. 
III.  The  Mastery  of  World-Views.  IV.  The  Invigoration 
of  Morality.  V.  The  Control  of  Social  Advance.  VI. 
"Every  Kindred,  and  People,  and  Tongue." 
NEWELL  DWIGHT  HILLIS,  P.P. 

Lectures  and  Orations  by  Henry  Ward 

Beecher 

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It  is  fitting  that  one  who  is  noted  for  the  grace,  finish  and 
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predecessor  which  he  deems  worthy  to  be  preserved  in  a 
Downd  volume  as  the  most  desirable,  the  most  characteristic 
and  the  most  dynataic  utterances  of  America's  greatest  pulpit 
orator. 

yy.  L.  IVATKINSON,  p.p. 

The  Moral  Paradoxes  of  St.  Paul 

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lumines them  with  pointed  comment  and  telling  illustration. 
The  sermons  while  thoroughly  practical  are  garbed  in  strik- 
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LEN  G.  BROUGHTON,  P.P. 

The  Prodigal  and  Others 

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— and  older  ones,  too.  Dr.  Broughton  does  not  hesitate  to 
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duction of  numerous  appropriate  and  homely  stories  and  illua- 
•rations.    He  xeacb«»  the  heart." — Review  and  Expositor, 


ESSAYS  AND  STUDIES 


JOSEPH  FORT  NEWTON  Author  of  "  The  Eternal 

""""— ~~~^~~~~"^~~~~~~~~~"~  Christ,'''' " David  S'unns''' 

What  Have  the  Saints  to  Teach  Us? 

A  Message  from  the  Church  of  the  Past  to  the 
Church  of  To-day.    i2mo,  cloth,  net  50c. 

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the  Mystic  Way  are  the  leaders  and  guides;  and  there  is 
muck  in  our  time  which  invites  their  leadership." — Preface. 

JOHN  BALCOM  SHAW,   P.P. 


The  Angel  in  the  Sun 

Glimpses  of  the  Light  Eternal.     Cloth,  net  $1.00. 

Dr.  Shaw  has  prepared  a  series  of  spirited  addresses 
marked  throughout  by  sincerity  and  fine  feeling,  and  free 
of  all  philosophical  surmise,  or  theological  cavil.  "The  Angel 
In  The  Sun"  is  a  refreshing  and  enheartening  book;  the 
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ions by  the  way. 

PHILIP   MAURO 

Looking  for  the  Saviour 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  35c.;    paper,  30c. 

The  first  part  of  this  little  volume  is  devoted  to  an  exami'- 
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port of  the  post-tribulation  view  of  the  Rapture  of  the  Saints. 
The  second  part  contains  some  affirmative  teaching  relating 
to  the  general  subject  of  the  I<ord's  return. 

PROF.  LEE  R.  SCARBOROUGH 

Recruits  for  World  Conquers 

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peal.— IVord  and  Way. 

PRINCIPAL  ALEXANPER   WHYTE,  P.  P. 

Thirteen  Appreciations 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

Appreciations  of  Santa  Teresa,  Jacob  Boehme,  Bishop  An. 
drews,  Samuel  Rutherford,  Thomas  Shepard,  Thomas  Good- 
win, Sir  Thomas  Browne,  William  I^aw,  James  Fraser  of 
Brea,  Bishop  Butler,  Cardinal  Newman,  William  Guthrie  and 
John  Wiesley,  go  to  the  making  of  Dr.  Whyte's  new  book,  a 
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Vrote  it. 


EARLIER  WORKS  IN  DEMAND 

WAYNE  WHIPPLE 

The  Story-Life  of  the  Son  of  Man 

8vo,  illustrated,  net  $2.50. 

"A  literary  mosaic,  consisting  of  quotations  from  a  great 
number  of  writers  concerning  all  the  events  of  the  Gospels. 
The  sub-title  accurately  describes  its  contents.  That  sub- 
title is  'Nearly  a  thousand  stories  from  sacred  and  secular 
sources  in  a  continuous  and  complete  chronicle  of  the  earth 
life  of  the  Saviour.'  The  book  was  prepared  for  the  general 
reader,  but  w!'!  be  valuable  to  minister,  teacher  and  student. 
There  are  many  full-page  engravings  from  historic  paintings 
and  sacred  originals,  some  reproduced  for  the  first  time." — 
Christian  Observer, 

GAIUS  GLENN  ATKINS,  P.P. 

Pilgrims  of  the  Lonely  Road 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

"A  rare  book  for  its  style,  its  theme  and  the  richness  of 
its  insight.  Seldom  is  seen  a  book  of  more  exquisite  grace 
of  diction — happy  surprises  of  phrase,  and  lovely  lengths  of 
haunting  prose  to  delight  the  eye.  Each  of  the  great  pil- 
grim's studies  is  followed  step  by  step  along  the  lonely  way 
of  the  soul  in  its  quest  of  light,  toward  the  common  goal  of 
all — union  with  the  eternal." — Chicago  Record-Herald. 

S.  P.  GORPON 

Quiet  Talks  on  Following  The  Chri^ 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 

"This  volume  is  well  calculated  to  aid  in  Christian  life,  to 
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grips  one's  very  life,  brings  one  face  to  face  with  God's 
word,  ways  of  understanding  it  and,  even  its  every  day  ap- 
plication. It  is  plain,  clear,  direct,  no  confusion  of  dark 
sentences." — Bapt.  Observer. 

G.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN,  P.P. 

The  Teaching  of  Chri^ 

A  Companion  Volume  to  "The  Crises  of  The 
Christ."    8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

"One  does  not  read  far  before  he  is  amazed  at  the  clear  and 
logical  grasp  Dr.  Morgan  has  upon  divirie  truths.  Gould  a 
■copy  of  this  book,  with  its  marvelous  insight,  its  straightfor- 
wardness, its  masterly  appeal,  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  our 
church  leaders,  it  would  go  far  toward  negativing  the  spir- 
itual barrenness  of  destructive  criticism.  Here  is  a  work 
that  may  profitably  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  the  minister's 
library." — Augsburg   Teacher. 

ZEPHINE  HUMPHREY 

The  Edge  of  the  Woods    And  other  Papers 

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"Sane  optimism,  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  and  a 
delicate  humor  pervades  the  book  which  is  one  for  loverg  of 
real  literature  to  enjoy." — Pittsburgh  Post. 


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